Rise of the Fomorians
by Thermit
Summary: One alone will not be enough. Two together and one will die. Death, either way. Death. You were fated to this doom. This is your destiny. Artemis Fowl looked to where Holly Short lay sleeping on his bed. One would die. But who?
1. Out of the desk and into the frying pan

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and other related characters are not mine. They are copyrighted to and are works of Eoin Colfer's.  
  
Rise of the Fomorians  
  
Act One: Overture  
  
Scene One: Out of the desk and into the fryer  
  
Holly backed against the wall, her Neutrino Blaster 200 held at the ready. Well-trained eyes enhanced by night vision goggles scanned the area with no difficulty. The junction in the hallway she was located in was dark and still save for the flecks of light and sound downtown Haven shed within the hallway's gloomy and shabby exterior. A rapid glance towards her obscure wrist COM revealed that the target was lay somewhere to the right leading within the ground level interior of the warehouse she was in. The same glance confirmed that her back up team was still precious minutes away. A few precious minutes that could not be spared.  
  
The solitary female captain of LEP knew she was breaching standard operating procedures once more by going on ahead without her assigned squad for back up, but it was crucial that she at least detain the target until the main "cavalry", so to speak, arrived. Her thoughts flickered to her would be red-faced commander if he knew what his wayward subordinate was already doing. Her career could not afford another serious blow, especially with the Internal Affairs watching like a hawk on a wounded prey. However, the capture of this target was so important that, she briefly hoped, Commander Root as well as Internal Affairs would oversee it. She remained in position for a few precious seconds before easing into the shadows and proceeding into the darkened hallway.  
  
As we follow our heroine through her daring risky venture down into the darkness to meet gods knew what, perhaps a little history would suffice to explain the forest of questions growing on the soil of our heads. A flashback would be most appropriate  
  
A week earlier  
  
Holly slipped into the Operations Booth very late in the day. The octagonal room was dark save for the plasma screens and various collections of lights that flickered on and off. It seemed vacant. Why shouldn't it be? It really was late. Even the greater part of the headquarters was vacant. Her steps were silent and her movements stealthy. She held a breath, hoping Foaly didn't know just yet.  
  
The female captain flinched as the overhead lights flipped open silently, focusing her with its powerful beams. Foaly's trademark customized chair swiveled around to reveal the centaur himself with a smirk on his lips. "You got it," he stated simply.  
  
Holly didn't answer. She didn't need to. It didn't take a genius to figure out the answer from the smile Holly was wearing.  
  
Foaly laughed, slapping a hand against the armrest of his chair. "I don't believe it," he crowed, "To think Julius actually gave you the Mercury assignment."  
  
"If you didn't believe it, then why are you still here waiting for me?" shot back the elf.  
  
"For you're information," retorted the centaur, "I was here because I needed to finish up some check ups that I didn't want to do tomorrow."  
  
Normally, Holly would have given the sarcastic technician, at the very least, a very snide remark but not today. Today was a very good day. "It's an end, Foaly!" she breathed, forgetting all about their little squabble moments before, "An end to all the desk work I've been sitting my rear to for the past two years! My own assignment! My own team!"  
  
Foaly shook his head, thinking that Holly was perhaps overreacting. But then again, considering that she'd been stuck with, for the better part, desk work for two solid years with the only field assignments consisting of subduing the occasional goblin gang because of her last part in the affairs of one Artemis Fowl, she had her excuses. "Part of a team," corrected the LEP tech before snickering, "So how'd he phrase it? Ol' Birchwood just couldn't take it anymore?" Birchwood was one of the captains underneath Root's division.  
  
"Ugh," shrugged the elf, though still smiling. She threw herself on another chair Foaly usually kept for brief visitors in the Operations Booth. "You know the Commander. He phrased it in such a way to mean that I'm just subordinate for Birchwood then the usual routine of yell a lot, yatta yatta, I'll have your badge if you don't do this right, yell a lot, yatta yatta. He was surprisingly good about it at the end, though," she replied. "He said that this was an important test for me. Both to determine if I was tame enough to follow orders and to see just how good I am." Holly said this all with good humor although there was a slight grimace on her pretty features. "Root knows I'm good enough. My record is impressive," she continued.  
  
"Yeah," snorted Foaly, "an impressive that goes two ways: like mountains and valleys."  
  
"Shut up," shot back Holly, but only half-heartedly. She knew it was the truth.  
  
"I notice that there's still no aboveground assignment clearance even though that's what Recon officers are supposed to do," said Foaly, golden eyes glinting.  
  
"Apart from the Hamburg incident, the Council still thinks that I'm going to. I don't know!" she cried, frustration leaking into her pretty features despite the delight that had suffused her dark complexion moments ago. "I don't know what they'll think is worse: Me fighting with that Fowl or me working with him. "  
  
"You seem to be dangerous either way, Captain," commented Foaly lightly before skillfully steering the subject to a different direction. It had been. difficult for Holly to let go of the Fowl incidents. She had been upset and, Foaly knew, would have gone aboveground to check on the Mud Boy herself if it had been permitted. But the Council, thinking it foolhardy to send her there yet, if ever, had just had Foaly monitor Artemis's networks and passed the monthly field visual check up to Captain Trouble Kelp. There were plenty of illegal activities; what else would one expect from Artemis Fowl? But, there was nothing pointing to the fairies. Yet.  
  
Holly had kept quiet about it to most everyone but she told Foaly once, and he had seen her thinking it more than once, that she thought Artemis, somehow, someway, would beat the mind wipe. Impossible, according to logical facts of the case, but it had also been impossible to escape the time stop hadn't it? There was something about that Mud Boy that made you think twice. Or was it just anxiety?  
  
Foaly didn't like to admit it, but Holly seemed to be harboring more than anxiety. Could it be guilt? Care that the Mud Boy had reverted to the ice hearted individual he had once been? She had said it herself that they were almost friends. Now Foaly didn't believe it true. How could any fairy in their right minds be friends with their kidnapper, be a friend to someone who continually exploited the People? But Holly was an elf, and a strange one. Elves were emotional fairies already without Holly's personality combination in the mixture. In any case, best to stay clear of that Artemis Fowl.  
  
"So what did Root give you? Birchwood's team, I expect, if you're just a subordinate," asked the centaur.  
  
Holly nodded once, a smirk twitching on her lips. She leaned forward, her smirk taking a dangerous edge, "And you."  
  
"What?!" exclaimed Foaly, sitting up in his chair. "But I-"  
  
"I know, I know," cut in Holly. "But Root thought this assignment merited technical back up." She waved the paperwork she had been carrying signed by Root as testimony to her statements, "I have access to everything you got in the Booth and more."  
  
Foaly snorted and caught the offending piece of paper. He scanned it quickly just to check Holly wasn't tricking him. "Hmph," he snorted again and tossed the paper back to her. "What, you're that bad that you can't catch a petty thief without little ol' me?" he baited.  
  
Holly ignored that comment again, knowing he was deliberately wheedling for compliments. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Yeah, yeah," said Holly listlessly, "whatever you say, Foaly. Listen, I just need updates on some blasters and then.." The captain began listing all the possible equipment she'd need.  
  
"Whoa, captain," cautioned Foaly, "going a little overboard, wouldn't you think? You sure you need all that?" He smirked, "Or are you overdoing it because of nerves?"  
  
Holly glared at him, "For your information, genius, I happen to know exactly what I need and when and how." She smiled at the way Foaly's brow rose. "Yes, I've been doing a little homework of my own on Mercury. He's going to be in for a big surprise." Although Foaly said nothing, when Holly smiled like that, an eerie reminiscence of someone he couldn't quite place, he could well believe anything she said.  
  
In the interval that follows our heroine between this significant beginning and the next relevant event, it would presumably satisfy ourselves with a little history about this Mercury case that Captain Short has mentioned.  
  
The target was codenamed Mercury. He was thus aptly labeled for his remarkable skills to elude capture no matter the security against him. For months now the LEP had been tracking down the criminal for charges of varying degrees of burglary and larceny. He began his career six months ago appearing here and there, at first, merely robbing a few civilians. Within a terrifyingly short amount of time the thefts escalated from pilfering random Haven citizens to raiding opulent fairy mansions and bank branches. To understate the gravity of the situation, it took a highly experienced thief half a century at the least to pull off a heist on a fairy bank with a success rate of 53%. To date, only three people had done it. One of them was Mercury. By himself it seemed.  
  
As usual, if a crime spree escalated to such proportions, the Lower Elements Police assigned a captain, or several captains if the situation were grave enough (such as the goblin revolution two years ago), to oversee the case. The better part of the Mercury case had been handled by a Captain Birchwood underneath Commander Root's division. Though he ranked low, not too many criminals got away against Commander Root's captains. Well, with the remarkable exception of a rare few, no names mentioned. Nonetheless, Mercury turned out to be one of the rare few. So far, all Birchwood had done had egged Mercury on. Now the thief began dropping off little puzzles to the LEP. He may as well have told them for all it challenged Foaly, but the thief seemed even more delighted that they knew where he was going to steal an item. Delighted, that is, because despite the numerous stakeouts and elaborate traps Birchwood arranged, they could not catch even an incriminating picture much less the actual thief. Not only that, Root had been reluctant to replace him as at that time an intense crime wave had washed over the city. They were short of fairies; they did not have a surplus of them. So despite the very obvious reasons and reluctance, Birchwood had been assigned the aid of Captain Holly Short where she could be useful and watched. You had to hand it to Internal Affairs for carrying grudges.  
  
In truth, Holly was more or less the actual fairy in charge of the assignment. Birchwood had been contracted by Root to focus mainly on the numerous reports of unusual disappearances and assaults happening all over the remote tunnels far from Haven. There had been reports of new mysterious fairies that terrorized the country fairies en masse. Half of the LEP had the assignment while the other half worked on the crimes within the city. Yep, it was busy season for the LEP.  
  
Despite the various complications and strange occurrences that chanced to give her this opportunity, Holly truly was delighted. On the field was where she belonged, not to some stuffy old desk with paperwork. Oh yes, Captain Holly Short was back. 


	2. Here it comes

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are the works of and copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
  
Scene Two: Here it comes  
  
Several days later, the female LEP captain walked to headquarters quite early the next day despite her late night shifts. She bypassed the usual traffic with hardly a glower. Her lithe figure deftly wove in and out among the heavy throng, the usual complaints and requests falling on deaf ears. Her attention was focused on the papers she was holding in front of her, hazel eyes gazing at the figures scrawled in Gnommish intently. In this same manner she marched inside the Police Plaza, drawing a few interested glances from coworkers.  
  
"'Ey, Chix, isn't that the elf you like?" nudged a gnome who was staring at Holly's form walking calmly through. Chix and the gnome were hanging around the front lobby of the Police Plaza. "That the crazy girly captain, eh?" Chix automatically straightened himself from his slouch, green eyes hurriedly tracking down his big time crush. He caught only a glimpse of her before she disappeared through the elevators. He sighed in instant appreciation.  
  
"Yep, she's the one," sighed the love struck sprite. He shouldered his bag of deliveries, gazing at her in a swooning sort of way. The gnome sniggered.  
  
"Careful, there, Chixie, girls dun like open mouths like yours with drool coming out of 'em," he warned jokingly before slapping Chix on the back in a friendly manner.  
  
"Uh huh," nodded Chix, gazing dreamily in Holly's general direction. His eyelids began to droop and he slouched once more. "Soon, me an' her are gonna get together." He began to fall forward but caught himself just in time.  
  
His friend laughed uproariously at him, "What's wrong wi' ye, Chix? You're a lot o' things but clumsy ain't one of 'em," he snorted. He quieted once he took serious note at the weariness of his friend's stance and the droop of Chix's countenance. "'Ey, you ok, Chix?" he questioned once more. "You don' look so good."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, fine," muttered the sprite, stifling a yawn. He hoisted his bag up. "Better get started on my deliveries."  
  
"What've you been doin'? You look somethin' awful, Chix," commented the gnome worriedly. "More of those late night deliveries?" Chix Verbil, after the injury sustained on his left wing, had been assigned as something of a courier between the various departments within the LEP and government.  
  
Chix nodded absentmindedly, "Yep. I'm tired'er than usual." He shrugged, and after casting one last longing look in the female LEP captain's directions, said, "See ya later, buddy." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Short!" roared Root from the confines of his office. For possibly one of the rare few times in Holly's career within the LEP, no, scratch that, in her entire life, the elf did not feel any amount of trepidation as she walked inside Root's spacious, well designed office. Well, as well designed an office could be with the usual clutter decorating any fairy police's office.  
  
Root's office had probably been better looking before the present commander of LEPrecon had settled into the large room. It was spacious, a rarity and a luxury in cramped Haven these days, containing a handsome curved mahogany desk tailored to Commander Root's every need. Off to the side was a large computer console. On the other walls were posters of etiquettes, gung ho sayings, and rules that were considered sacred to LEP. Facing the desk were several chairs for conference and a small table to hold the small helpings of drinks and snacks in case anyone stayed longer than five minutes. Of course, the smell is not to be ignored.  
  
Once the junior officer stepped into the office, she wondered, for what could veritably be the hundredth time, if there was a way to sneak in an extra powerful air freshener, or at least a way to bat away the noxious fungus cigar fumes that eternally hovered within without seeming to. Ahh, best to ask Foaly about that, but now . She took a deep breath, big mistake as it turned out, choked, before saying in as decent a voice as she could manage, "Yes, Commander?"  
  
"Status report," ordered Root with a glint in his dark eyes.  
  
Holly smiled. She had been expecting this. "Sir, I have gone over the assignment with Captain Birchwood and enlisted Foaly's back up in this case," she replied readily.  
  
"Assignment progress?"  
  
"We have determined that Mercury has an inside connection to the security schematics within either the Police Plaza or the Government Center," reported the younger elf evenly without missing a beat, "I've had Foaly run check ups personally and no one remotely suspicious has had access to the schematics center for the past three months. So instead we've decided to focus exclusively on Mercury while Foaly tightens the security around the schematics center. Instead of trying to catch him, we'll do a feint operation and attach a tracker on him. From then on we'll monitor his progress and trap him when he least expects it."  
  
Root paused, both to process the latest bit of information his subordinate presented before him and to be silently and just a little impressed at Holly's work. She might make it past the proverbial dog house just yet.  
  
"Proceed," he stated simply before dismissing her. Holly already knew she had scored points from the way Root's complexion lightened considerably. She dared not smile in the presence of her commander, but once outside the twitch on her lips bloomed to a full-blown smirk. She was just going down the hallway to her cubicle when she got an alarm on her wrist COM.  
  
The wrist COM was a minicomputer capable of composing, sending, and receiving visual and audio files. Similar to the systems installed in all LEP helmets, it was also hooked to the various networks the LEP so that Holly might peruse information she needed at a moment's notice. In addition, the wrist COM was activated primarily by only Holly's voice but also by an interactive hologram control system it was able to project. It was a handy little piece of gadgetry that, Holly was fairly sure, was not available anywhere else. Of course, Foaly had given it to her as a birthday present the past spring  
  
The small symbol on the tiny screen, a hoof with wings, told her that it was a message from the centaur himself. "Read e-mail," spoke Holly softly. The translucent screen brightened for a moment and writing scrolled down the surface. Holly looked at it once before smiling to herself and abruptly switching directions to the Operations Booth.  
  
She entered her destinations a few spare minutes later, and the first words out of her mouth were, "You had better not be joking me, Foaly."  
  
The centaur leaned against his swivel chair and smiled at her. "Look at it yourself, sweetheart," he replied before nodding to the large plasma screen. There were always several windows running at the same time on the main screen. Foaly being head techie of the LEP, was in charge of overseeing all of the LEP's various technical vantages. It was no mean feat to be in charge of a veritable army of systems, programs, and monitors.  
  
Presently, however, the main window dominating the screen was that of an e- mail written in an elaborate manner suggesting some kind of code. One look at the message and Holly knew it made absolutely no sense whatsoever. "Were you able to trace it?" asked Holly, coming to stand by Foaly.  
  
For a rare instant, Foaly's face was irritated and displeased, "No. It's just like the other ones. The trace comes back dead. I have no idea how he was able to compose this thing without a terminal that leaves a trace. Give me a few more messages though and I'll have him. One way or another."  
  
"I see," nodded Holly, already expecting that, "One of the questions we're going to ask him once we put him behind bars. Did you decode it?"  
  
"Didn't goblins start the turf war?" snorted the centaur. "Of course I decoded it! It's really simple."  
  
Holly nodded, not even bothering to figure out what type of code it was. "So what does it say?" she pushed on.  
  
Foaly humphed, obviously mildly irritated at the lack of appreciation he was getting. "Read it yourself," he retorted before pushing a button on his keyboard. Another window popped open, smaller than the one with the original message on it. It read, "You disappoint me. You hardly challenge me. I've collected drops of fire and hearts of trees. Can you stop me from stealing the fairy moon tonight when it shines the brightest? Come get me if you can."  
  
Foaly commented, "Cocky. This guy is really cocky."  
  
"Drops of fires and hearts of trees." murmured Holly speculatively, "He means the rubies and emeralds he's been getting lately. So the moon."  
  
"Is most probably a diamond," finished the centaur.  
  
"But which one?"  
  
Foaly's golden eyes turned once more to the screen. "I ran a check on all famous diamonds fairies possess. Most aren't really conclusive but there are two with specific references to the moon." He tapped a few more keys. Another window popped open containing an image of a cluster of sapphires set against a rich velvet background. Amidst the small jewels was a moderate sized globe of diamond glistening in the dark. "That's the newest art creation of that jewel crafts sprite Tia Jade. It's called, 'The Heavens'."  
  
Holly nodded, "Appropriately enough."  
  
"Still incomplete work though. Apparently she still has to add the sun and all the rest of the galaxy," smirked Foaly.  
  
"I see," said the elf, "Pretty suspicious, but what's the other?"  
  
Foaly brought up another screen. The image was faded, not very good compared to current LEP standards. Holly guessed that it must have been taking over a hundred years ago. However, it did contain one single sphere of diamond, in perfect symmetry so that whatever light directed at it was kept within making it seem to be shining its own light. "This one is simply called 'The Hunt of the goddess Artemis.'" His eyes flicked to Holly at the mention of the name, expecting some kind of reaction. He was disappointed. Holly looked perfectly impassive.  
  
"Artemis." murmured the elf, "It's vague enough to slip past the obvious."  
  
Foaly shrugged, leaning back in his chair, hands steepled together and arms supported by the armrests, "Nobody knows why it's named that way except that it does look like the moon."  
  
"Who does it belong to?"  
  
"It belongs to a gnome that goes by the name of Hash Tater," replied Foaly readily enough. "He's the heir apparent to the Tater family fortune."  
  
"Tater? As in the Tater?"  
  
"Yep, the famous Tater family. They can trace their bloodline all the way back to the days of when fairies lived aboveground," nodded Foaly. "Apparently, it's a family treasure. You know how gnomes are and their gold. Especially the ones with the history to them."  
  
Holly nodded. Ancient gnome families, starkly different from the country gnomes that one usually encountered in Haven, were obscenely opulent, talented, and difficult to get along with. Most gnome families were involved in engineering, one of the careers in the fairy world that thrived exponentially. Thus also fulfilling the stereotype of gnomes as smiths as well as rich (along with their more popular cousins the dwarves), they were obsessive and paranoid of the security of their possessions to the point of mania. One of the witch doctors in the Brotherhood of Psychologists even went so far as to classify this type of behavior as an example of obsessive compulsive.  
  
The LEP had frequent dealings with the ancient gnome families because they often called on the police force to help safeguard their valuables. The tight security around their own private homes, if the valuables were not in fairy banks, was more than enough to deter the regular thief without LEP interference. That, in addition to their paranoid nature, caused most of the LEP to regard ancient gnome families as crackpots.  
  
Normally, offering LEP aid to security would be no problem, but this particular gnome was even more paranoid than normal standards. He suspected everyone short of himself of trying to steal the family fortune. Good for the LEP because that meant one less gnome to worry about. Bad for Holly in particular because it would be harder than trying to get a dwarf to try skydiving than make Hash Tater let them in his security detail.  
  
"Foaly, I just got a page from over my frequency." began a voice from outside the Operations Booth. Foaly, after checking his security cameras and whatnot, buzzed the person in. It was Captain Birchwood. Birchwood stepped inside the Booth.  
  
Birchwood was an elf, extremely short, extremely grizzled, and extremely tough. What Birchwood lacked in height he more than made up for in toughness. Birchwood was famous for having beaten up his instructor during his last day at the Academy. He was a no nonsense veteran who made up for his age with comprehensive experience on the field. Dependable and skilled, he was often entrusted with the nitty gritty assignments other captains would have failed at.  
  
"Something about the Mercury assignment?" he queried unnecessarily before looking at the e-mail as well as the translation on the plasma screen. He came to stand to the left of Foaly. "The target areas are these two? When does the heist happen?"  
  
"We presume, following the pattern of Mercury's previous crimes, that it'll happen tonight," responded Foaly.  
  
"That leaves us very little time to grease the wheels with the people who possess the jewels," cut in Holly, getting right down to the heart of the matter. "Tia Jade shouldn't be a problem, but Hash Tater ."  
  
"One of the jewels is Hash Tater's?" muttered Birchwood, eyes showing the faintest signs of dismay. "I know him. Young gnome more paranoid than even you, Foaly."  
  
"Hey," began Foaly, slightly offended. Holly nudged him before he could say anything more.  
  
Birchwood's face-hardened in resolve. "All right," he said, "we have exactly twelve hours before the moon reaches the zenith. Let's not waste a second of it. Short, you go contact Tater and try not to flash your LEP badge too much. I hear he takes after pretty girls so it's better if you meet with him. Put your best girly foot forward. I'll contact Tia Jade."  
  
"Uh, what do you mean exactly by girly foot?" asked Holly in consternation, but also in surprise that Birchwood was going to be present for tonight's stake out. For the better part since Birchwood and herself began sharing assignment responsibilities, he had been mostly absent. On duty with the tasks Root gave him presumably.  
  
"Exactly what I mean," responded Birchwood shortly. "Focus. We had better grand slam this one, Short. More for your sake than mine."  
  
Holly nodded. He was right. She shouldn't let anything distract her attention. Focus, focus, focus. She had it under control. Girly foot forward. Right.  
  
Yeah right. A few spare hours later, Holly was seated in front of Hash Tater's desk in her regular LEP uniform. She figured, on the way down there, that the official procedure should be enough to convince Hash despite Captain Birchwood's advice. There is nothing in the world more effective than a liar to oneself.  
  
Hash Tater was shorter than the elf average by a half-foot. He was plump round the middle and rear but made up for his gnomic physique by dressing in an immaculate designer suit. His wiry brown hair on the head and face were smooth and well styled. On several fingers were rings of precious stones and a bracelet of delicate workmanship.  
  
His office was much more impressive. Again, it was a very large room with a costly marble floor. Leather furniture was tastefully spread out to accommodate a large party of people. One wall was entirely floor to ceiling glass windows. There was a bar in one end of the room. In another was a large entertainment system. Hash Tater's desk stood on the last end of the room. The metal chrome furniture was much more impressive than Root's. It was huge, sweeping the width of the room, and containing several shelves and desks. Holly, at first glance, could detect three computers whirring in perfect place on top of the desk.  
  
The perfect fairy image of a millionaire.  
  
Foaly had located the gnome in one of the Tater's compounds in the outskirts of Haven, coincidentally also the place where the jewel was being kept. Just Holly's luck that this jewel wasn't in a fairy bank. Still, as Holly was led into the heavily guarded mansion with up to date technology, the Tater security was no mere push over. Now she just had to convince the gnome that the LEP were earnest in helping them out.  
  
"Your name is Captain Holly Short, is it?" asked Hash. He paused long after Holly's nod to gaze at her silently in a matter that decidedly grated on the elf's nerves. There was something suspicious about his stare that reminded her eerily of Chix Verbil. She did not want to be reminded of the amorous sprite in any way, shape, or form. "The female test case in Recon?"  
  
"It's good that we were able to see you on short notice, Mr. Tater," began Holly, skipping whatever preamble the rich gnome might have intended to do. "But the LEP have good reason to see you. You see, we received word that the thief known as Mercury might rob a jewel you have in your possession that goes by the name of 'The Hunt of the goddess Artemis.'" She paused to let the significance of her words sink in.  
  
The gnome changed from slightly stalkerish observant to wide-eyed paranoid. He spluttered with the first few words that shot out of his mouth before asking, "What? Mercury? As in the Mercury? After the diamonds? How? How do you know?"  
  
"Sir, we received a puzzle from Mercury hinting that he'd be after famous diamonds with specific references to the moon. Your diamond happened to be one of significance that came to our lists."  
  
Hash Tater nodded pompously, used to asserting the importance of his jewels, "Yes, yes, it is. Are you sure it's from Mercury, though? Where is the note? I need to see it and have it examined."  
  
"Mr. Tater, you don't seem to understand the significance of the situation," objected the elf, hazel eyes glinting seriously, "There is a great chance that Mercury will come tonight to steal the jewel. If we're to help you catch the thief and safeguard your jewel, we need to act quickly. We don't have time for your personnel to come in here-"  
  
"Wait a minute," interrupted Hash, " what do you mean by 'we'? The LEP, you mean? Come in here and add to my security detail?" The incredulity in his tone told Holly that he had not been entertaining the notion in his mind. He rose to his "intimidating" foot and a half height. "I never said anything about letting the LEP within my property."  
  
"Sir," returned Holly firmly, standing up as well, "A dangerous criminal has a very good chance of entering and robbing your property. You'll need the LEP to contain the situation."  
  
"I think not," retorted the gnome indignantly, "For centuries the LEP have dismissed my family pleas for aid and now all of a sudden you offer aid? This sounds suspicious, Ms. Short."  
  
Holly was a little ticked off. A little because the gnome was being troll headed but more because he called her a miss. Not only did the very female (and therefore weak) implications grate on her nerves, but also he had derided her rank as an officer within the LEP. He wasn't taking her seriously enough. "Actually, it's Captain Short," answered the elf. "Secondly, your wishes in the issue are not the foremost matters of importance. It is the LEP's mission to catch Mercury and if you refuse to comply you are obstructing LEP procedures." Her hazel eyes glinted as the legalities of the matter chased themselves around Hash's mind.  
  
"Y-you can't-" stuttered the stricken gnome, "I'll call my lawyers on this."  
  
"I'm sure you will, but be that as it may, this is the situation as it stands. We can either sue each other and wreak havoc, risking your jewel in all the commotion, or we can cooperate with each other for just this one night and, I promise you, we'll be gone by tomorrow."  
  
"You wouldn't dare."  
  
"Oh wouldn't I?" asked Holly challengingly. Who said Holly had to put her girly foot forward? "Your precious diamond is at risk. Are you going to take that risk?"  
  
Holly had hit the gnome right where it would be most effective: the paranoid impulses.  
  
"V-very well," he agreed heavily after several minutes of silent contemplation. "But I have this entire conversation recorded so if I see any funny business going on, I'll go public with it!"  
  
"Agreed," nodded the female captain, face impassive. However, she was inwardly triumphant.  
  
"And I want you in charge of the operation!" added the gnome, "I want you to keep to your promises."  
  
"Don't worry, Mr. Tater," soothed the officer, her voice back to being normal and polite, "I will be. Now let's start planning the security in earnest."  
  
"Yes." agreed the gnome after a few minutes silence in which he took the opportunity to gaze at her again in the same way he had done initially. Holly stifled a groan. 


	3. Mercury

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are the works of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
  
Scene Three: Mercury  
  
Several hours later.  
  
Holly resisted the urge to roll her eyes and smack the living daylights out of one of her subordinate officers as their grumbling over the helmet frequencies subsided into silence. Focus was crucial to the mission, and this was a very crucial mission, first one in fact with her own team. She would rather not blow this golden opportunity up. The fiery elf counted from ten to try and regain her own focus on the monitors. A glance downwards at her wrist COM indicated that all monitors were clear. The criminal had yet to enter the structure.  
  
Holly, along with her contingent of officers, was spread out in strategic locations ready with a clear shot when the thief showed up. If the thief showed up. She slightly dreaded what would happen if nothing did happen and the gnome would make good on his threats of legal action against the LEP. Admittedly her actions had been aggressive, but they were necessary. Considering that she managed to have Mr. Tater cooperate by showing her his added security plans and having his security compliment the LEP's, she should be a little proud. But still.  
  
Despite her own bravado, she felt her confidence recede slightly. The note from Mercury had said he would have the item by the zenith of the moon. According to her moonometer, that time had already passed ten minutes ago and still no sign of anything unusual. Perhaps Foaly had missed something in the note, perhaps he was already within and they didn't know it because of a glitch in the system.  
  
The elf broke her own order of radio silence to communicate with Foaly. "Foaly?" whispered the elf, though her helmet was soundproof to keep her the noise and breathing within.  
  
There was a slight static before Foaly responded, "I hear you, Captain."  
  
"Are the monitors showing all clear?" Foaly had rigged the entire security to show up in the Operations Booth as well as added his own touches. This particular Tater mansion was locked as tight as any fairy bank and then some with its highly trained team of LEP operatives waiting on guard within.  
  
"All clear. Your wrist COM should tell you that. I see what you see in the wrist COM," responded the centaur with a slight wry tone in his voice. He was trying to avoid using sarcasm knowing Holly was in enough pressure already.  
  
"I know," said Holly briefly before continuing, "You sure you didn't miss anything on the note?"  
  
Foaly's patience could only go so far, "Come to think of it, Captain, I think I might have missed the date or something."  
  
Holly's stony silence over the frequency was answer enough.  
  
"I'm sure, Holly," drawled Foaly. "I have it right here with me and we're good. So just sit tight. Maybe he had to pee on the way here or something."  
  
Holly refused to respond, but she inwardly agreed with Foaly. Of course he was right. It really was just nerves. Focus, Holly, focus, she told herself. Her eyes drifted back to her wrist COM to reveal the same green status as before. Out of habit, she stared long and hard at the target of the thief. It was a sizable globe of diamond shaped to resemble the moon. It hung suspended within a Plexiglas case resting atop a wired marble pillar. The vault itself was located in one of the lower levels of the mansion. Sealed tight and heavily guarded. She did not want to be Mercury. As far as she could see, it was impossible to get in without being seen. Which was the idea. Holly glanced to the side in order to check the position of her team again. She could not see them. Good. That was when Holly saw something odd.  
  
Was it a shift in the shadows? She stared closer at the inky blackness cast by one of columns near the jewel before pressing the night vision switch on her helmet. Nothing could be seen. Out of instinct, she stared for a few more minutes. There! There was a barely perceptible shift in the screen although nothing was showing up. Nothing fairy at least. Holly, from inside her helmet, frowned. Her helmet was filtered so shields couldn't see it. She switched on infrared: still nothing. Could this be a malfunction?  
  
"Foaly, are you certain nothing is showing up on the screens?"  
  
"Holly, for the last time, there is nothing here," retorted the centaur, exasperated.  
  
"Then what am I seeing?"  
  
The elf heard a few keys being tapped and knew that Foaly was examining what her camera feed was showing. "I'm not seeing anythi.." Foaly's answer died on his lips.  
  
"Full alert, boys," broadcasted Holly on the team frequency. "Possible target within range. Southwestern column nearest the diamond." She switched back to Foaly, "What are we seeing Foaly? Is it a malfunction?"  
  
"Can't be," came the muttered answer. Keys were being tapped at a high rate. "I'm checking the systems myself. They're all clear from what I can see."  
  
Holly's response was muted as that something, whatever it was, glided out of the shadows although it mostly seemed like shadows itself. It was a slow glide, a sensuous feline crawl. Holly had never seen anything like it. "Foaly, are you reading this?"  
  
"Reading what?"  
  
"Now is not the time for sarcasm, Foaly," hissed Holly through the frequency. "I need an ID on that thing right now!"  
  
"Captain, I am not seeing anything," hissed Foaly right back.  
  
"What?" asked Holly thoroughly bewildered. She switched back to the team frequency, "Target acquired. Safety off."  
  
"Captain," came an officer, "I can't see anything."  
  
"Me neither," came another.  
  
"I can see it," objected a third voice. "Never seen anything like it in my whole life."  
  
What the hell.thought Holly before issuing a command, "All right, those who can see it, lock your weapons in position." Intense hazel eyes focused as that something came closer and closer to the jewel. "Those who can't, prepare to activate the tunnel lights." She counted the seconds as the target approached the jewel.  
  
Several things happened simultaneously. Firstly, Foaly and the computer, as one, reported, "All traps and alarms on the jewel disabled. Security compromised!" Next, the light surrounding the glass case switched off, as did all the electricity within the compound. Then Holly yelled into the mouthpiece, "Now!"  
  
Three quarters of the team rushed in, while the rest switched on their tunnel lights. In the wild flashing and the mass of LEP officers charging in with buzz batons waving, Holly saw that the shadows that seemed to be obscuring their vision was gone replaced by a sinister looking figure.  
  
The said figure was tall, as tall as a human, wearing a long black robe complete with a cowl. It was made of some material Holly could not discern at the moment but it rippled and moved exactly like shadow. The figure was holding the jewel. How, the elf nor the other officers could not guess for the glass case looked untouched. It swung about rapidly as the officers charged in and it seemed to laugh. Delightedly, it swung around and dodged the officers, as fluid as water, but none ever seemed to be able to touch him. The thief was as untouchable as the element he was named after. Not only that, he was toying with them.  
  
In a strange moment, Holly found the figure strangely familiar. Then the yells of her subordinates resounded in her ears and she aimed her weapon and fired. "Fire!" she commanded. The rest of the team who remained stationary followed suit. The remaining were the sharpshooters and their weapons were not meant to kill or even to stun. Root would kill Holly if she risked her officers like that. No, these were weapons that shot trackers. Trackers were very similar to LEP locators. The clever addition to the trackers was that it was extremely small, extremely hard to discern, and was customized to cling to any surface except the LEP uniforms and solid heavy material like granite or rock. As usual, it was another of Foaly's inventions.  
  
In the confusion, Mercury simply laughed mockingly before saying, "Is that the best you can do?" It slipped into the shadows once more and when the high beams focused there, nothing could be seen. Holly wasn't even paying attention. Instead, she glanced downwards to her COM holding her breath. There, yes! Two trackers had hit Mercury and stayed on. It was moving at an incredibly fast rate. All according to plan.  
  
"We have a problem, Captain Short," came Foaly's voice from the frequency.  
  
"What is it?" grunted Holly rapidly, already running for the exit to the compound in order to complete the ruse that the thief had defeated the LEP. Several officers followed her lead. She snatched up a hidden Hummingbird wing set Foaly had provided her with his latest personal updates as if she intended to fly around the compound.  
  
"I'm losing the signals emitted by the trackers," answered the centaur's breathless voice. "Somehow, I can't figure out how, the signals are getting weaker and weaker. It's as if the power source is running out but that's impossible! Those batteries are a nuclear source they can't run out."  
  
"What?!" shrieked Holly, really beginning to run as fast as she could. "How long until they go off entirely?"  
  
"Five minutes tops," supplied the tech readily. "I suggest you run after him now when he's not expecting you. We have a time limit we didn't expect it seems."  
  
"D'Arvit!" cursed the elf, streaking past the lobby. She projected the map along with the tracking signals to her helmet. According to the schematics, it was moving out of the compound itself already. Not only that, it seemed to take off in the air. "Follow the tracker!" screamed Holly over the team frequency. "No questions; just follow it! The target seems to have aerial capabilities so those with wing sets go up!"  
  
The captain slipped on her wings and took off into the night sky. Despite the adrenaline pounding in her veins, Holly couldn't help but notice that she was flying faster than usual for the wing set. Really fast. She was soon outstripping her back up by a large length. It was not advisable to take on Mercury on her own but what choice did she have? It was either alone or lose him entirely.  
  
"Foaly, is it just me or are these new wings really fast?" Holly asked, knowing that she could squeeze to ask the question while she pursued the tracking signal. She was rapidly ascending altitude to about 200 ft.  
  
"Eh. yes, I added a few updates to your wings," committed Foaly.  
  
"Only my wings?" groaned Holly.  
  
"Only your wings," confirmed the centaur. "I haven't exactly tried them out on anyone yet... But a good thing to because it seems that the new wings are helping. You're gaining on your quarry, Captain. Approaching and fast."  
  
"Right," grunted Holly, withdrawing her Neutrino 2000. Her visor's vision was automatically magnified in order for Holly to see better the pinpointed area the tracker was coming from. Again, the shadow Mercury seemed to be surrounded in shimmered and teased her vision. She waited until she was in better range before loosing a few blasts.  
  
Mercury dodged just in time. Her blast singed that damned cloak he was wearing and his eerie shadow form was replaced by the figure Holly glimpsed earlier in the Tater Compound. His cloak flapped uselessly in the wind, apparently stripped of its stealth capabilities. But what interested Holly the most, however, were the wings on the thief's back. They were exactly like a sprite's wings with a few significant exceptions: they were larger and longer to accommodate the also larger size of its owner and they were pitch black with no sheen in them. They beat at an extremely fast and powerful rate, allowing its owner to go at speeds of over 80 mph.  
  
Nonetheless, no matter how good the sprite's wings were, they were not able to best Foaly's updates. Holly began firing a volley of shots in Mercury's direction. The thief was forced to perform several aerial acrobatics to avoid dodging them and, Holly was pleased to note in the back of her mind, he was laughing no longer. It would only be a matter of time before Holly shots would hit and one shot was all she needed.  
  
Holly was close enough to secure a good shot when the sprite turned around abruptly and stopped in mid air. Holly's eyes widened and she pulled frantically at her gears. Not good enough. The elf slammed into her target and they both spiraled downwards in a tangle of wings, legs, and arms. Holly was helplessly entangled with the sprite.  
  
Time slowed down for Holly. She knew they were going to crash into the ground with a sickening splat within fifteen to thirty seconds if they weren't able to pull out of the dive. Her heart rate rocketed to the sky as she saw the ground start rushing up to them as they plummeted headfirst. She frantically tried to disengage herself from the sprite, but he seemed to be stunned or was set on clasping her to him. Suicide. Their heads passed the roof of the tallest buildings in downtown Haven.  
  
Her breath caught in her throat and she simultaneously reached for her Neutrino. If he wasn't going to let go, she was going to force him. If she was able to control her dive, there was a chance she'd be able to rescue him just yet. It seemed an eternity as she fumbled with the weapon and aimed. It was a rough shot and there was a chance Holly would shoot herself. With the ground rushing up in what seemed like ten seconds, Holly squeezed the trigger.  
  
The light was absorbed in the sprite and it shook him a little, enough to loosen his hold around her arms. Holly's hand immediately went to the throttle of her wings. But something distracted her attention. The sprite had flattened his wings, using the force of the wind to stop his fast descent and glide crazily into the open entrance of a warehouse.  
  
"Holly, the wings!" screamed Foaly in Holly's earpiece. The elf started, realizing that her friend was screaming at her and probably had been for some time now, and immediately pulled up. The gears groaned at the abrupt reverse and for dangerous moments it seemed Holly would crash anyway despite her efforts. She barely managed a fast glide a foot from the ground but the wall of the warehouse was coming up fast and she had no way of stopping the wings in time without cutting it entirely and managing to twist her bones around. Even if she did manage a safe crash, there was no guarantee that the wings would not explode on her. The batteries to the wing set were nuclear or something. No, perhaps it was another wing set but Holly didn't remember and hardly deemed it necessary at the time. So she did what seemed like the best course of action. In the few moments of mobility remaining to the captain, she disengaged the wings and flipped to her side, curling instinctively.  
  
Through shielded eyes, Holly saw the wings crash into the wall and explode in a small shower of fire and machinery. The wall came up fast and hit Holly squarely on her back. The breath she had been holding was expelled rudely as pain flooded her senses. Her body jolted in an alarming manner, but at least she prevented her skull from knocking into the wall. At that speed the helmet would not be that much of a cushion against the force. Her body slid to the floor and her vision swam black for a minute or two as her breath came in gasps.  
  
There was a buzzing in her ear. Or was it Foaly? She groaned and shook her head, staying still for a few moments as her magic cascaded around her body, healing the damage she had sustained. In a minute, she felt fine enough to stand up and talk to Foaly. The centaur was reporting various vital statistics of Holly and it ended with, "It seems, Captain, that although you have crash landed from 200 ft. in the air, destroyed LEP equipment, and slammed into a solid wall at dangerous speeds (and probably left a dent), you're still fine."  
  
"Thanks, Foaly," gasped Holly, wincing at the slight discomfort somewhere near her ribs. In one swift glance, she looked at her surroundings: somewhere near Downtown Haven was her guess due to the noise and lights, but probably in the industrial area. The building she crashed into was a solid, square warehouse. It was dark. Obviously, the workers were nowhere near. Luckily enough for her, her wings had landed in a place surrounded by solid rock so there was nothing for it to consume. In a matter of a minute, the fire smoldered sullenly out of existence.  
  
She jogged swiftly to her discarded Neutrino 2000 and glanced at her wrist COM. The beeping was faint now, but it was most definitely stationary and was within the warehouse. "Send my coordinates to my team, Foaly," instructed Holly.  
  
"Already ahead of you, Captain," affirmed the centaur. "They'll be there in about five minutes. You're not going on ahead are you?"  
  
"I have to!" answered the elf. "I stunned him so there's a good chance he's lying there unconscious. Even if he isn't, I have to delay him enough for the rest of my team to get here. I can't lose him, Foaly."  
  
Foaly didn't even bother arguing. When Holly was like that, it was either help or get out of the way. Silently, he prayed that she caught this thief. If she failed, Internal Affairs would kick her out of the force for sure. Even if she did catch this thief, Root was sure to yell. ~End of Flashback~  
  
Holly proceeded stealthily down the right hallway. Her COM told her that she was approaching the main storage area of the warehouse. The target was in there somewhere. One look within told Holly that this was going to be extremely difficult. Crates piled several feet high lined the space. There were plenty of places to hide. At least her COM told her that the thief was still within although the signal was not strong enough to pinpoint his location exactly as it had done before.  
  
"Tracker One is lost, Captain," said Foaly. "About a minute before we lose Tracker Two as well."  
  
Holly hissed silently. This mission was just getting better and better. She switched her helmet feed to infrared. She had barely the time to catch a glimpse of a flash of red to her left when she was assaulted by something moving at a very fast speed. Her fast reflexes sidestepped the attack in time and her free hand lashed out to catapult the thief onto his back. In rapid movements, she brought her Neutrino into the range and fired. The thief might be a bit sizzled, but she wasn't going to feel guilty about it. In the back of her mind, Holly wondered why the thief was moving so fast after being hit by a previous Neutrino shot.  
  
Then something happened that completely threw her off more effectively than being slammed against a wall. Her blast had stopped in midair. Stopped, it seemed, by the thief's out raised hand. But that wasn't enough in itself to surprise Holly. Given the bizarre things she'd seen, she was expecting something like this. No, what really surprised her was the face. The momentum of the thief's attack had thrown it back revealing a face.  
  
The face was slightly larger but more defined. It was a handsome face, a disarming change on a face Holly, sadly enough, knew all too well. A face that haunted her footsteps since the day they met while she was on duty in LEP. 


	4. So similar but so different

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are works of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
  
Scene Four: So similar but so different  
  
"Chix Verbil," whispered Holly in disbelief, her pretty face clouding in shock and disbelief. Those green eyes were unmistakable. How long had it been since they stared at her in a manner that she so detested? It only seemed like this morning that he had been making up excuses to come near her. He had been the same then, the same silly face and "professional" moves on her. His metamorphosis into this, the near legendary thief Mercury, was staggering.  
  
In the moments of Holly's shock, Mercury, no, Chix, in a movement too swift to be tracked with the eye, knocked the Neutrino for her hands and grabbed on her wrist with the other hand. His hands, gauntleted it seemed, sent a strong charge rippling through her body very similar to that of a buzz baton. Holly bit back a scream that threatened to rip out of her throat as her body shook in response to the abuse.  
  
Chix twisted her arm behind her rapidly to ensure her immobility, but he hadn't turned off the electric charge either. Within a minute, if he didn't stop, more than just a few brain cells would get fried.  
  
Holly couldn't hold it in anymore. A scream ripped out of her mouth, agonized and high pitched, "AAAAAAAAAA!" There were voices in her ear, presumably that of Foaly, frantically saying something in her hair, but she couldn't focus on it.  
  
Just when it seemed she could bear it no longer, the charges stopped. It would take the magic more than a minute to heal her. She fell limply to the ground and would have fallen had not the thief's free arm supported her waist. For a few moments, her vision swam and more than ever she nearly blacked out, but she resisted. She couldn't feel anything and was only dimly aware of her helmet being removed and the thump of it as it was thrown away. She protested weakly, strands of her auburn hair hanging limply.  
  
"Tricky little officer, aren't you?" said Mercury in a taunting voice. "No one's managed to see my face or fight with me." He pushed her upright to get a better look at her face. Green eyes stared coldly down at Holly's face. Holly's eyes were closed to stop the dizziness and nausea from overcoming her, but the intensity of Chix's gaze forced them open halfway. Pained hazel eyes stared upward defiantly, prepared to quite possibly be killed. It took her keen eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness. Understandably, she could not see all too well, but she saw enough to see something interesting on her assaulter's face.  
  
Chix's expression changed from sadistic to shocked. A strange emotion passed over his face, something close to consternation and pain. Holly wasn't in a good enough condition to tell. "Holly." he muttered. The word escaped his lips as if by accident. He dropped her as if she were a hot brand and backed away, green eyes wide and frightened.  
  
Holly moaned as she slammed once more to the ground. Her limbs trembled as she struggled to pull herself upright. Her breath was erratic but she hissed through her teeth, "Traitor." Her short auburn hair was plastered to her forehead through the sweat. "I . knew.. I knew you were an idiot. but this takes the cake." As usual, when faced with imminent danger, the elf usually let her anger override her fear. Anger was always better than fear.  
  
Chix seemed to have recovered sufficiently for he answered her, "Idiot? Idiot, am I? The LEP haven't caught me. They'll never catch me. I'm better than they are."  
  
The elf's brow furrowed as quick thought flashed inside her mind. He did not know. He didn't know about the trackers. That meant he was unaware of the LEP Rapid Response team that were sure to come in only a minute or two. It didn't matter that the tracker was lost so long as they stayed where they were right now. If she kept him busy for a few more minutes.  
  
"How?" she asked. "How did you change to this.? Why?" Hazel eyes gazed steadily at his new form. "This wasn't the Chix Verbil I knew this morning."  
  
His lips pursed in thought, "Chix.? I know that person.."  
  
Holly's eyes widened, "What are you.?"  
  
He smiled mockingly, "I am a sprite. Obvious, isn't it?" He extended his large wings magnificently and in pride. Typical of a sprite to show off even in the most inappropriate times.  
  
"But Chix. Sprites are not like this. You aren't." she gasped as a small spasm of pain fluttered inside her.  
  
"I am not Chix," he answered harshly. "Sprites are like this. This is the form we're supposed to be."  
  
"Form you're supposed to be?" she repeated. Doubt assailed her mind. This creature was obviously unhinged. She was not even sure if it was Chix anymore. Sprites had a tendency to look a lot alike. Maybe this was a kind of a mutant breed of sprite.  
  
"Yes. The form we sprites are meant to be in," he answered tersely before pouting, "You elves have no idea."  
  
Holly glared at him, "No idea of what?"  
  
He took a step towards her and some of Holly's anger deserted her. "Would you like to find out?" he asked her eagerly. His green eyes regained that feverish, maddened glint. "It would be a shame to kill you. Not when you've come so far." He took another step and knelt down to Holly's broken form. "You would be happy with us, Holly. You would be a daughter to him, like I'm his son."  
  
The elf, by now, was fairly sure that the sprite was deranged. Besides that, there was something else about him that unnerved her. Despite the fact that he said he was not Chix, there were actions all about him that made him so similar. But when his hand came up, as if to caress her face (still like Chix), Holly had had enough. With as much force and vindiction she could muster, she slapped his hand away. Her hand stung from hitting his gauntlets, but she didn't care.  
  
The sprite smiled down at her. "Yes, you would be great at his side." He stood up once more, thankfully for Holly, but he wasn't through yet. His hand delved within his cloak and in the poor light, Holly caught a glimpse of a chest plate of some sort. In a few moments, the sprite withdrew his hand. Upon one palm he cradled reverently something tiny, but he held it as if it were the most precious gem in the world. From his height Holly could not see it.  
  
He used his other hand to do something with whatever it was that was inside his right hand. All the while he muttered, "You'd be happy in this form. More power. This is it." His left hand stilled and from his height, he smiled down at Holly. "I'll change you. make you into what you're meant to be."  
"Like hell!" cried Holly, struggling into a sitting position.  
  
"Hurts, doesn't it?" he asked. "You think that I used a buzz baton, didn't you? No, not really. I used my magic. I have strong magic. That magic is stronger than any buzz baton you can make. Try all you like, but your legs aren't moving for a bit."  
  
"Liar," stated Holly with more confidence than she felt, "you have no power. You're a thief. You broke the sacred laws, and you have given up your magic." She kept her eyes fixed on his right hand. She was getting a very bad feeling coming from whatever that was.  
  
Mercury smiled at her, "I don't follow your rules." With that, he began chanting something. It was a language similar to Gnommic, but with a different accent, inflection, and several words entirely foreign to Holly. She waited a moment or two for her Gift of Tongues to kick in, but then she realized with a sickening start that she couldn't understand it still. How could that be?  
  
At the corner of her eye, Holly noted that a circle of red light had begun to glow around her. She gasped and curled up instinctively. This was something entirely new and entirely. unnatural. She could feel it in every pore. This was wrong. Totally wrong. Granted, the sprite had magic, but it was not the magic the fairies used. It was completely wrong and horrifying. She couldn't help it. "Chix!" she screamed at him, "Stop it!"  
  
But the sprite continued on heedless of her cry. His green eyes were focused entirely at the thing on his hand and Holly realized what it was what he was reading from. The fairy bible. It was a fairy bible except that it was unnatural just like the magic it could summon. It was unnatural just as Chix was. From a gap in his fingers, Holly glimpsed the skin of the bible. It was small, matchbox size just like hers, but it's cover was dark, a void of color. It was eerily similar to the color of Chix's wings. The complexion of his skin was just a faded shade of that same horrifying color.  
  
"Chix, stop it! This is wrong! Stop!!! I don't want this! Stop!!" she cried out. The red light was beginning to grow in intensity and she could feel its power surging up all around her. "Please!!" she managed before the red light consumed her completely and her scream rang out.  
  
It was at that moment that the much-awaited LEP team stormed in, guns blazing. One expert shot from Trouble Kelp knocked the fairy bible from Chix's hand. Unlike Holly before, these fairies didn't seem to know it was Chix, or didn't care, and they rained a flood of stunners to the thief whilst expertly avoiding the light that was surrounding Holly, amplifying her tormented screams.  
  
The thief gave a great shout of rage and ducked instinctively. He rolled sideways and picked up his fairy bible. He was forced to move quickly for the shots of the LEP followed him. It seemed that his incantation had drained him of power for he moved sluggishly and he couldn't seem to use his stealth cloak.  
  
"Hands up, criminal!" roared Captain Kelp, holding his left hand up with a clenched fist to halt the shots, "Not unless you wanna get stunned by more than a dozen Neutrinos at the same time!"  
  
Mercury's only response was to throw a small circular object into their midst. The LEP operatives dodged with ease and ducked for cover. The object exploded in mid air but while the LEP helmets were flash proof, they were not dark proof. Instead of emitting a blinding white flash of light, the bomb exploded into darkness, blacking everybody's vision. Night vision and infrared did nothing to help. Not that it mattered because it was over in a moment or two. But when their vision did clear, begrudgingly it seemed, the thief was gone.  
  
Captain Kelp immediately issued orders for the LEP commandos to fan out and see if they could track down the thief. Some of them were sent to check on Captain Short while they waited for the warlock medics to arrive.  
  
"Trub. eh, Captain," came the hesitant voice of the famous captain's younger brother. Normally, Trouble would have yelled at Grub for referring to him that way again, but the tone his brother employed worried him. "You should see this."  
  
Grub Kelp was standing near the fallen form of Holly Short along with two other officers. There was a strange mist around her, like smoke that didn't seem to want to clear of. It sent shivers down Trouble's spine just staring at the scene. What had that devil done to Holly?  
  
Trouble walked forward, "What is it, Corporal?" He frowned at the way Grub ignored him, and was staring, fascinated, at Holly. "Is Capt. Short all right?" tried Trouble one more time. "Oh for heaven's sake, Corporal, don't ignore me!" He stomped over, exasperated, but was immediately silenced by what he saw. The image left him breathless. The only thing he managed to say was, "D'Arvit." That was when she moved.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~  
"Ohh," Holly moaned, rising from her fetal position. Her lungs greedily took in air, as if she had been starving for breath. Her fingers weakly curled into half hearted fists as she struggled to prop herself up. She felt sick as if she had undergone some accident and was now approaching convalescence. Her body felt strangely new to her. Everything seemed wrong. There was an indeterminate mumbling around her, some undercurrent of fear in it. But it was wrong! She knew there were people near her but she couldn't hear them. It was as if someone had put earplugs in her ears, blinds on her eyes, and a blanket over her senses.  
  
"Wh-what hap-happened to me?" she whispered weakly, collapsing to the floor.  
  
"Easy there, Short," said a familiar voice, loud and clear. A small hand patted her back and she jumped in surprise. The small touch felt so strange, oddly familiar and weirdly amplified. But more importantly, why hadn't she known someone was near? Holly was famous for having one of the keenest senses in the force. Nobody snuck up on Holly Short. "Whoa, there. We don't know what happened yet, but help's coming."  
  
"Wh-what?" she asked in consternation. She processed the information, but she couldn't understand it. It was disorienting. What had happened? Her mind tried searching for the memories, but it was too painful. Why was she feeling this way? Why wasn't the magic helping her? Was she drained of it, was she drugged. No, that happened over three years ago. She struggled on her hands and knees, head down on the ground. "Where am I?"  
  
"Sit yourself down, Short," ordered that same familiar voice. "It's me, Trouble."  
  
Trouble? Trouble. why was he here? "Ugh," moaned the elf, collapsing on the ground. There were some more noises somewhere and they were heading in her direction. Her eyes snapped open, but they were fuzzy as if she were near sighted. She drew away from noise hastily, afraid. Afraid? Why was she afraid? What was she afraid of? No. who was she afraid of?  
  
Something rumbled cautiously near her. There were presences hovering near her, and again there were more mutterings. Someone familiar was near and they were talking in hushed voices she could not make out. Why was everyone talking like that?  
  
Some decision finally seemed to be made and someone approached her cautiously. "Captain Holly Short?" asked a hesitant yet kind voice. "My name is Lyco Persicon. I'm a warlock medic. I'm going to check on you all right?"  
  
Holly opened one bleary eye wearily and saw a blurry figure carrying a metal container approached. It was dressed in that familiar comforting blue of the warlock medics. Medics. that seemed like a good idea right about now.  
  
The medic set down the bag beside her and did something. Holly could not be too sure of what, as she was too preoccupied in trying to shut the pain permeating her being. She did try seeing what was going on and was rewarded with her own reflection on the bag the medic was carrying.  
  
The sight caused her to gasp, arching up, to the alarm of the medic. Pain shot through all her senses once more. Her face haunted her mind as she slipped once more from consciousness. Her face it. her face. it was .. 


	5. Metamorphosis

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are works of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
  
Scene Five: Metamorphosis  
  
Holly was sitting in a soft, field of green with her long, lithe legs drawn up against her chest. The sun was sinking low in the sky bleeding colors of crimson, purple, and soft pink. It was sunset, her favorite time of the day. A breeze played gently with her short strands of auburn hair. Three feet in front of her, a vast lake resided with waters of a calm azure. Mighty trees surrounded the lake: tall oak, proud beech, and graceful willow. The lake perfectly reflected the sky and Holly watched in content as the sun sank silently, radiantly into the horizon.  
  
As the elf continued gazing, questions inevitably pushed its way into her mind. Why was she like this? Where was she? Commander Root would be sure to have her badge for staying aboveground like this for no reason. But the serenity permeating the lake was so insistent that she only half vaguely asked herself these questions, content to only watch and wait. A smile curved her cherubic lips. It had been a very long time since she had managed to go aboveground for the simple reason of enjoying something as natural as a sunset.  
  
The wind blew a little more forcefully upon the area, sending ripples skidding across the lake. The trees whispered to one another, the tall grass humming in the breeze. Holly smiled. She could almost hear the spirits of the trees singing their slow, joyful song of growth and nurturing. Her mother had taught her how to do so once. listen, to the sounds of nature and sing with them.  
  
Holly parted her lips and let the sounds flow from her mouth. A graceful, haunting music emanated from the elf. This was a song only the trees, the plants, and the animals could understand. It was her song to them and her serenade for their beauty. They joined her in chorus. Her lashes closed dreamily at the splendor of all that surrounded her. There was a longing in her now, a longing to stay like this for an eternity.  
  
Slowly, Holly came to realize that there was another voice singing beside her, a voice that did not belong to nature but seemed so old it was ingrained in the natural environment. Her eyes flashed open, her voice faltering in song. The trees, the plants, and the breeze also grew silent. Holly looked around her. It was dark now, the sun already having set. But there was no moon in the sky, or at least a moon that Holly could see. It must be the day of a new moon, she realized.  
  
She cocked her head wonderingly for the other voice had not stopped in song. In fact, it continued stronger now, gaining in power and volume. Holly began crawling towards the lake for that was where it seemed like it came from. Just as she came within a few feet of the lake, something stopped her. The same old fairy intuition she had trusted with her life had sparked once more, warning against looking into the lake. She paused in confusion. What could be wrong with the lake? Nothing looked wrong.  
  
The voice pushed her feelings away, drawing her onwards once more. It was insistent in a gentle but powerful fashion. That voice was trying to tell her something. It was at the tip of her mind, teasing her comprehension. She bit her lip. What harm could looking in the lake do? She took the last few shuffling steps and looked at the water.  
  
The lake was unexpectedly dark and blank when she looked in it. It was calm and smooth, oil slick. It looked ominous. Then the wind picked up a little and in the small waves Holly noticed various shapes in the water. There were many down there, walking, running, flying, talking, doing something but their outlines were all she could make out. The shadows hid them from her. She opened her mouth to call out for them, but then she saw Chix's form in the water. That was an unmistakable shape. He had just landed from a flight, it seemed: an impossible flight on a broken wing. He seemed to notice her. He shook his head, or maybe it was the water being wobbly. She wasn't sure which, but she didn't understand what he meant. She moved to call his name when she noticed something else in the water. Her reflection.  
  
A dark face stared back at her, its complexion as dark as the present Chix's had been. Her auburn hair had turned a dark burgundy and hazel eyes had become the color of dark red. Her face was larger, better built and defined than it had used to be. It was a beautiful face, but its beauty made it all the more horrifying. Her eyes widened in increasing terror. This was not right.  
  
Then something erupted from the lake in an explosion of water and force. Something. something grabbed on to her shoulders and tried to drag her within. A terrified, shrill scream pierced the air as Holly struggled against the powerful arms, "No!" It was a fruitless struggle; she knew it. But she didn't want this; she wanted no part in this. However, the longer the arms held her, the more the strength in her limbs failed her. Her forceful punches and pulls had become clumsy movements. Her mind was beginning to give in to the call that hadn't stopped since it began a song with her. As she was about to be dragged in the water, something happened.  
  
A voice pierced the night and called to Holly. It was a voice speaking in a language familiar to Holly, a language close to her heart: Gnommic. "Holly," said the voice, "Holly, come back. It's time to go home now. You're worrying us, silly. Come back now." It was a voice she knew from the bottom of her heart. A voice that she had missed so desperately for such a long period of time.  
  
Shafts of light began piercing the gloom, brightening the darkened lake. The arms stilled momentarily, loosening their tight grip. Holly pulled away and scooted backwards. The arms moved back to the lake. In the last minute, Holly saw the things that had grabbed her. They were arms and hands, but they were arms and hands of a creature the elf had never seen before. They were long, bony hands. The scaly flesh stretched taut across the bones of the appendages. Each long finger ended in a claw. One hand had seven fingers. Then they disappeared underneath the water, hardly disturbing a ripple. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~  
  
Foaly sighed at the sight over the viewing screen, his heart beat receding back to normal. His centaur eyes distinguished Holly's own heart rate blipping feebly in the monitor. The warlock paramedics were checking her other vital signs. As the genius technician of the LEP, Foaly knew a lot about medics. It was part of his job to monitor the vitals of the LEP operatives, after all. Besides, it didn't take a genius to figure out that when the heart plummeted, as Holly's did a few minutes ago, it was not a good sign.  
  
Nonetheless, did the elf did begin stabilizing, and that was good. Very good. He looked to his side where Commander Root and Captain Birchwood were also watching, faces drained of color. This could quite possibly be one of the rare few times the Commander was not his trademark red. It only illustrated the depth of fear the LEP officials experienced during Holly's emergency heart attack.  
  
Holly had been knocked unconscious after the confrontation with Mercury. She had seemed stable then but the warlock paramedics insisted that she be brought to the healing centers. It was a wise decision, as it turned out, as Holly experienced heart failure followed by about ten minutes from her removal from the warehouse in downtown Haven.  
  
Usually, heart attacks were no problem for fairies, elves especially. Their magic automatically fixed the blockage and cleaned out the entire network of arteries and veins etc. effectively flushing out the trace fungus that resided in the heart from the cigars. Usually. But if the elf were drained of magic, as Holly seemed to be, then there was a problem. The fairy then had to resort to treatments from the warlock medics. However, the magic the warlock medics offered to Holly's shaking form seemed to be rejected. If anything, it made it worse. Shortly after the magic was offered, Holly started having seizures.  
  
The warlocks had never seen anything like it. After a few moments, the chief medic had ordered all hands to go off. He had realized that they were aggravating the situation; they were not making it any better. If Holly was going to pull out of this one, it was on her own. Things had gone rather badly for the better part. The convulsions had grown worse. In one terrifying moment, it seemed as if they would lose her entirely. The shakings had weakened, and the heart rate was almost gone Foaly had never been more afraid in his life.  
  
Then Holly took one shuddering breath and exhaled. Her vital signs were starting to return to normal, but her heart seemed dangerously weak. Even now it beat an unsteady, frail rate.  
  
The chief warlock exited the emergency room and emerged into the viewing room. Commander Root was on him in an instant, "How's Holly?"  
  
The chief warlock sighed, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. "I don't know what to tell you, Commander," responded the healer.  
  
Root's face instantly regained its rosy hue. "What do you mean you don't know?" he growled. The temperature instantly rocketed inside the room and the medic began sweating once more. This was almost as bad as being inside that room with the dying elf. Almost.  
  
"I-I don't know!" stammered the warlock. "We haven't made any accurate diagnosis given the information we have! We have no idea what's wrong with her."  
  
"Isn't that your job?" asked Commander Root acidly. "To know what's going on and cure it?"  
  
"Commander Root," said the warlock, trying to maintain a calm tone, "look here. She was under some sort of spell whose origins are entirely unknown to us, correct? And then ten minutes after removal from the site the captain experienced heart failure and then convulsions." Commander Root took a few deep breaths in order to calm down and follow what the medic was saying. The warlock continued, "We could not, cannot, make a diagnosis in such a short amount of time. We tried treating the symptoms as best we could, but you saw the situation yourself. Capt. Short pulled out of the attack. barely. Now I'm afraid she's gone into a coma. We still have no idea what's going on inside her body."  
  
The commander had gone redder and redder despite the deceptive serenity that his expression was set in. "Then I suggest, doctor, that you find out with whatever time you have left," he returned in a steely tone. "Or else your time will be running out."  
  
The medic swallowed, nodded, and hurried away. All traces of calm were gone. You did not argue with the commander of LEP, especially one with a gun strapped to his hip.  
  
When Root turned his attention back to the other occupants of the room, Foaly was already at the other side peering at Holly's still form. His keen gaze picked up his best friend's condition: ashen pale, weak breaths, and she didn't seem like she would waken any time soon. Things did not look too good for Holly Short.  
  
It was Captain Birchwood who first broke the silence, "I think, Commander, that we ought to review the case now. The sooner we get to the bottom of it, the more chances we have of helping Captain Short." Root nodded decisively. Captain Birchwood was right. They could do nothing mooning about while Holly was unconscious.  
  
"Come on, Foaly," said Root, his voice uncharacteristically soft. He laid a hand on the centaur's shoulder. "We have to get back to headquarters."  
  
The centaur nodded minutely. The three left for the Police Plaza. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~  
  
"All right, everyone," said Root to the two other occupants of the Ops Booth. He sat himself in a large chair, puffing on his trademark fungus cigar. "What exactly did happen down there?"  
  
"I would like to know the same thing," nodded Birchwood. He opted to remain standing with his arms folded. "About fifteen minutes after the zenith of the moon, I received a message from Foaly informing me that Holly's team had tagged the target and was pursuing him. Ten minutes after, there was a request for back up in a location near downtown Haven. By the time my team had got there, Captain Trouble Kelp, along with Holly's remaining team, had already contained the situation."  
  
Two pairs of eyes landed on Foaly who, despite his years of experience in relaying information, squirmed at the thought of what he was going to tell them. If they both knew what Holly had done, they would kick her out of the force . If not them, then Internal Affairs for sure. But what choice did he have? None really. "Well," began Foaly, after a moment's pause. He pressed a button and Holly's feed, along with the rest of her teams, was projected on to the plasma screen. "Let's start at the beginning, shall we?"  
  
"All right, Holly convinced Hash Tater to let LEP into his security details," began the centaur.  
  
"I heard she threatened him into it. Now that the jewel is gone, Tater is threatening to sue LEP," said Root suddenly.  
  
Foaly shrugged. "Mr. Tater was being stubborn so Holly had no choice but to use forceful negotiation."  
  
Root sighed before saying, "Go on."  
  
"We get the whole security beefed up and I wired all feeds to the Booth," said Foaly. "Blah blah we wait blah blah until Holly sees something moving in the shadows at the pillar closest to jewel." The feed changed color as Holly switched visions on her Optix helmet. "Night vision, infrared, motion sensor, nothing works. But if you pay close attention to the night vision, you can see an almost imperceptible something moving in the shadows. Don't even bother with system malfunction. Holly thought that herself, but it's not, I checked it." Foaly slowed the rate of the feed and pointed at the area of the pillar with a laser pointer.  
  
"What is that?" frowned Root, leaning forward in his chair.  
  
Foaly shrugged, "I tried enhancing the image, but when I did all I got was shadows. So Holly gets her team ready. The minute that thing gets within a certain radius of the jewel, all the electricity in the compound gets shut off. The connection from Central is fried, I just found out. Holly gets her Team A to make a diversion and Team B shoots. Curious thing, not everybody could see what it was, so only about a half of the team were working in all. But when Team B focuses the tunnel lights, they see it and everything goes smoothly." The centaur paused the screen at a full shot of Mercury. The two others sat up in their chairs. This was their first glimpse of Mercury and also the first incriminating picture ever taken of the thief. He did not disappoint the two who had expected something infairy. Rather, they thought Mercury looked like some sort of mutant.  
  
Foaly smiled at their reaction. Birchwood had gasped audibly, an intense surprise bursting over his face. Root had remained implacable save for the suddenly rapid puffing of his cigar. The centaur smirked, "No cigars in here, please. My computers might not take it much longer." The commander glared at the centaur before dousing the lit fungus cigar. But still his eyes gazed in rapt attention at the screen.  
  
"What am I seeing here exactly?" asked the red faced LEP commander.  
  
"Mercury," answered Foaly, grinning. He continued after Commander Root's deadly glare. "It's only one full shot of Mercury. We're not exactly sure what he is. Obviously not fairy. Or at least not a normal fairy. I'm still searching for similar pictures and characteristics from all available data gigabytes. However, it'll take a long time, a week if we're lucky. That's a lot of gigabytes to travel in."  
  
"So Mercury's a freak of nature," nodded Root. He had considered blowing up on Foaly over the time limit but realized that the centaur was doing his very best. Behind the smirk and the sarcastic nature, the centaur was very concerned over his friend's welfare. "That's good to know. It would have been nice to know this before we set up heists for him."  
  
"So then," continued Foaly, "Two trackers hit the target. Thief flies out unscathed, predictably. Now here are the read outs for the trackers." Foaly gestured to another screen. The schematics of the underground city were laid out and there were two beeps going on a steady but very fast rate outside. The centaur read out the altitude and velocity the trackers were traveling in.  
  
Birchwood whistled, "That's extremely fast, even for wing sets. No wonder we were never able to catch him at all. That and that cloak of his."  
  
"Tell me about it," agreed the tech genius. "It outpaced the other models by miles."  
  
"Yet Holly was still able to catch up with him," cut in Root. His dark eyes gazed in suspicion at Foaly. "I wonder why."  
  
The centaur chuckled nervously, "The wings were purely for show so I went ahead and updated Holly's wings with a few experimental ideas. I had no idea she'd be using them at all."  
  
Root throttled the air, wishing it were around the centaur's neck. "Foaly, you thrice blasted centaur! If that thing had blown up.!"  
  
Foaly winced, "Come now, Commander, I knew what I was doing." Then he moved forward to get that topic out of Root's mind. "Holly starts gaining on him and shoots a few shots with the help of Optix. She gets one hit and that stealth cloak Mercury's using is cut out. She can see him now. Just when she's about to make a shot, Mercury stops in mid air. Holly crashes into him and the two go down." Root grew redder and redder as the camera feed was visibly jolted and the next few minutes were a tangle of dark clothing and terrifyingly high-speed shots plummeting downwards. Foaly plunged on, "Holly blasts Mercury with a Neutrino and he gets off of her. She manages to stop from splattering herself all over the ground, but she ditches the wings as a result." Holly's pain sensor went over the roof as she crashed into the wall from what it seemed. The next few moments were clear as Holly was revived by magic, sent orders and continued onwards. "After she's inside the main storage facility, we catch a flash of red. She sidesteps in time and shoots. We see her pause and the camera sees this." Foaly blew up a picture of a strangely familiar face with a flash of red frozen in front of his palm.  
  
This time even Root gasped, "That's."  
  
Foaly nodded grimly, "Chix Verbil, registered sprite for the LEP. He was part of Cudgeon's team in the first Artemis Fowl affair and he was working with Holly when his left wing got busted when she was working as a chute monitor. Holly pauses, obviously natural. But then everything gets blurry. Obviously, Mercury must have incapacitated her somehow judging from the sounds. Then he attacked her with probably a buzz baton because pain sensors went right off the scale for about three minutes. Afterwards, the camera loses power. Again, for a reason I'm not sure of, but it did." Foaly frowned in his lecture, obviously bothered with the extraordinary amount of technical failure when it came to the Mercury case. "Next thing we know, camera lands face down so I blow up the audio." Root and Birchwood's face became graver and graver the more they heard of the conversation between Holly and Mercury. The audio then started giving out for a long while and the next thing they heard was the firefight between Captain Kelp and Mercury. In the end, Foaly finally said, "We don't have a visual or an audio of what Chix did to Holly."  
  
"Did you check Kelp's feed?" asked Birchwood.  
  
"Of course. Theirs went fuzzy when they went into the warehouse too. But they did say that Mercury was chanting in a strange language and there was a red light surrounding Holly. Later on, they see Holly this way," answered Foaly.  
  
"This is bad," said Birchwood. "From what it sounds like, we've got a freak with very powerful magic or technology working for someone and who seems to have the ability to turn fairies into something 'they're meant to be.'"  
  
"Assuming Mercury isn't crazy or a liar," volunteered Foaly.  
  
"All right," said Root, standing up, "Foaly, I want you to call those behavioral specialists and get a profile on what we have so far of Mercury. I know it's sketchy because we only have him on visual for a few minutes but work those doctors out. Birchwood, I want a full investigation on Chix Verbil. I'm assuming he's gone UA?" UA was simple military talk for unauthorized absence. Foaly's nod confirmed his hunch. "I want a full report and then a search for him. No friend or family member is not going to be investigated. I want this fairy found. Now!  
  
Two days later.  
  
Foaly was visiting Holly Short although for all the good it did, he might as well have visited a wall. Holly Short was unresponsive to any stimuli given her although she had remained stable throughout. Stable was good. They could work from there. But if she continued on like this. The centaur sighed. He wished Holly had family. He wasn't sure if he could do this by himself. As far as he knew, Holly's father was dead, her mother dead, grandparents on both sides dead, and no cousins or friends. One of these days he really had to look up Holly's genealogy. This accident brought to sharper focus that Holly was alone in the fairy world, and she only had a few friends. The closest thing she had to a family was LEP.  
  
"Wake up, Holly," whinnied Foaly fruitlessly, "we don't know what to do now. All your friends are waiting for you to wake up." He paused, "Well, almost all of them. But if Artemis Fowl knew how you were, he'd be with us too. We could probably use his help." The centaur chuckled a little, "That boy really can do impossible things. But I'm the smarter genius. Right?" He remained silent for a few minutes. "You told me once you were almost friends. I wish I was paying more attention at the time," said Foaly. "I never told you this but. back when I was reviewing his memories, I think the sentiments were returned. Artemis Fowl."  
  
Unbeknownst to Foaly as he continued to blab about the bygone Artemis Fowl days, Holly twitched. Somebody was calling her name. But it was spoken in a strange voice. No, she groaned inwardly, no more strange voices or languages. But this voice continued on. Was it speaking to her? But who would be speaking to her? She could barely make it out, ". flyboy grandstanding?" What? Flyboy grandstanding? Somebody had asked her once whether how she was piloting a shuttle necessary or was she grandstanding . Artemis Fowl! That Mud Boy!  
  
Hazel eyes instantly popped open, irritation pinching her pretty features. Then the pain hit her like an anvil and she groaned, instantly forgetting all about that little verbal spar with the human. Her hand shook and she noticed something. An IV was inserted to her arm, and she sat up with a gasp. Last time she had been knocked unconscious a remarkable individual that shall remain nameless had pretended to inject her with truth serum. She inspected it closely before she noticed a centaur that had backed away from her bed with his jaw touching the floor.  
  
"Hey, Foaly," greeted the elf, a little surprised at his expression, "what's up?"  
  
"Gods of all the world!" he stammered. "H-Holly!"  
  
"You okay?" asked the female captain before settling back on to the cushions.  
  
"Am I ok?" muttered Foaly, shoving his shock to the side. She had woken up. Just like that! "Am I ok! Are you okay?"  
  
"Ugh, I feel like I got body slammed by a troll," muttered the elf. "My body's aching and my head is spinning."  
  
"D-d'you remember what happened to you?" asked centaur nervously. He was immensely relieved at his friend's recovery (he couldn't wait to tell the others), but now that she was awake, something was bothering him. "I've got to call Commander Root."  
  
"Root!" exclaimed Holly before groaning, a hand going up to her throbbing temples, "The mission! What happened?" Foaly, by now, looked extremely nervous.  
  
"We really ought to wait for the Commander, Holly," said the centaur. "You're just recovering. Ease up on yourself and let us handle it."  
  
Holly groaned but it was not from physical pain this time, "I screwed up, didn't I? How'd Root take it?"  
  
"Erm, the Commander should tell you that," said Foaly. "Now hold on for a sec while I go page the commander." The centaur clip clopped out although it wasn't necessary. Once outside Holly's perception, the centaur took out a handheld device from his belt and paged the commander with a simple message: Shrt awke. Brief and to the point. What more need be said? Then the fairy took a deep breath and glanced towards the door of Holly's room. It would only be a matter of time before Holly remembered what had happened and realized just exactly what had happened to her. She wouldn't like it.  
  
Holly frowned as Foaly left. He was avoiding her questions, which usually meant the answers were not ones she'd Iike. But what more could she expect? She'd screwed up royally on this mission and Internal Affairs would kick her out for sure. She sighed as the realization came crashing down on her. She'd be kicked off the force. It was almost better to stay unconscious than to be forced to learn that fact. Not only that, but the headache she was experiencing was enough to make her world reel. In addition, something was throwing her off. There was something going on that set her on edge. There was something wrong and it tingled her at the back of her mind.  
  
When Foaly walked back in, she said, "Foaly, you don't have to hide it from me."  
  
The centaur's brows disappeared beyond his hairline. "Wh-what do you mean?" he asked.  
  
"I know what happened."  
  
"You do?" gawked the centaur.  
  
"Of course," snapped Holly. "I'm not an idiot." Her infamous temper had flared once more before subsiding as suddenly as it came, "I was kicked off the force, wasn't I?"  
  
Foaly's golden eyes widened comically, his brain finally working out what she meant to say. It took half a minute for him to realize it, and when he did, he laughed. It was an exhausted laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. It was sorely needed from all the pressure the centaur had gone through lately.  
  
Holly's glare made the laugh die quicker than Foaly would have liked. "I fail to see what's so funny, centaur," said the elf.  
  
Foaly shook his head. "Sweetheart, that should be the least of your problems right now," he smiled.  
  
"What do you mean?" frowned the elf. It was at that precise moment that the Commander Root walked in the door and the centaur was never gladder to see him at that moment. "Commander," breathed Holly, sitting up straight.  
  
"At ease, Captain," growled out Root. He glared forcefully at her until she settled back into the bed, ignoring her soft protest of being able to sit up. There were a few minutes of silence where no one said anything. Unexpectedly, Holly broke it.  
  
"I'm sorry, Commander," said the elf, and there was true remorse in her voice. But her features were straight and she did not look down. Foaly was inwardly impressed at Holly's strength of will. "I did what I thought was best for the mission. I'll turn in my badge and equipment as soon as I get out of the hospital."  
  
The commander was inwardly relieved. He had hardly thought it appropriate to ream out a newly awakened coma victim but Holly had just given him the incentive he needed. "What under the world are you talking about, Short?" barked Root.  
  
Holly's face showed her surprise. "I. I'm being kicked off the force, aren't I?" she asked, but a small hope had kindled inside her. Maybe, just maybe.  
  
Root's color subsided just a little. "You broke around fifty rules going after Mercury, Holly," he said, "and that's not counting the fact that Tater wants to sue us. Thank the gods the lawyers have found a loophole around that." He snorted at Holly's face. If he weren't her superior officer for over twenty years now he would have found her face impassive. But he could read her better now. "Don't look like that, Short. You're not kicked off yet. You're just suspended indefinitely. It was the best course we could find."  
  
Holly sighed in relief. There was still a chance, however small it was.  
  
"Now, the Council doesn't want me to involve you in this investigation anymore, but I felt better of your strength," continued Root. "I want to ask you questions about the heist."  
  
Holly nodded, "Of course, Commander. What have you found out?"  
  
"We reviewed your camera feed and pieced together pretty much what was happening. Except." and his eyes glinted at her strangely in this sentence, "what happened when Mercury began saying something in another language that no one can decipher. We only heard a word or two before the audio blinked out. All recording equipment was disabled during that time for a reason Foaly has yet to know."  
  
Holly fingers slowly curled around a fistful of fabric, her eyes zoning out in a point Root nor Foaly could see. "I remember. Chix wanted me to become something like him. He took out a fairy bible except it was all black. He began saying something in a language that my gift of tongues couldn't decipher. It was something similar to Gnommic; I could catch a few words here and there, but I didn't get it overall. Then a red light surrounded me. I was in so much pain."  
  
Her hand shook a little. Foaly and Root glanced at one another. "What happened to me?" asked the captain. "I remember so much pain inside. And then something happened, the chanting stopped. Trouble. did Trouble come? I remember Trouble somehow." Her eyes finally flickered towards them and she realized for the first time that they were gazing at her in a strange manner. "What? What is it?" she asked. Her eyes widened, "The spell.. It didn't work, did it? I'm not like him, am I?" She at her hands and fingers. "D'Arvit."  
  
"Not quite. Notice anything different, Captain?" asked Foaly wryly. "Do Julius and I look smaller to you?" Holly's eyes widened in horror as her eyes confirmed what Foaly had been hinting at. She hadn't noticed anything because the two of them were staying far away from her. But even that distance could not disguise the fact that they did look smaller to her. There was a large click in her head. The reason why they seemed small, the reason why she was surprised at the size of Trouble's hand on her back in the warehouse, the reason why her senses been on whack, the reason why her body ached so.  
  
Holly looked towards the window of her room in the hospital and with her bedside control set it to reflect. Her reflection slowly greeted her back. Although it was not as she had feared it would look like, it was definitely different. The length of her body had grown. Whence she had been shorter than Root and most definitely Foaly, she could now easily tower over them. Likewise, the rest of her body had grown as well. Her face was the same, but with marked differences. It had grown more defined, expressing its character very well. Her hair as well, once a light shade of brown, had darkened to ruby fire. It was what she would have looked like in a few centuries. Otherwise, she was still the same. She retained her exotic nut-brown complexion, her hazel eyes, and her pointy ears. To put it short and simple, she looked like a fairy the size of a human.  
  
"D'Arvit," she breathed once more, "what the hell happened to me?" 


	6. Deception

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are the works of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
  
Author's Note: Be sure to check out my bio for announcements on updates on the story as well as revisions on the chapters.  
  
Scene Six: Deception  
  
Four days after the Tater heist, downtown Haven.  
  
Haven was a treasure chest of lights and sounds. The various buildings glistened underneath the Earth like so many precious metals and gems. If it had been above ground, it would have mirrored the heavens in display of stars and other heavenly bodies.  
  
Haven was a city of lights and sounds for fairies. Despite the efforts of the city officials to conserve all resources in Haven, it still managed to look like what any city should like: a beehive of activity. Crowds made up of the entire spectrum of the fairy specie (except trolls) thronged the heavily congested pedestrian walks. There were even the occasional goblin citizens, despite the fact that a large percentage of their kind were sent to jail due to the uprising two years past. Automobiles beeped loudly at each other, trying to get a move on to the even worse traffic in the road. There were fairies talking, laughing, cursing, shopping, walking, dancing, flying, yelling; their sounds reached upwards towards the tops of the buildings and filled the air. Their everyday activity and interaction was a complicated dance of music and movement that made up the lives of most fairies underneath the world. This was Haven. This was haven for all the fairies since the Mud Men had begun to take over the world above.  
  
Yet somehow, all this did not seem to reach the lone figure resting in the shadows on one of the buildings. Mercury's face was expressionless as he gazed at the Healing Center directly across from the building he was standing upon, completely isolated and ignoring the bustle of life below. His form was hidden in shadow, the stealth cloak completely hiding him from all eyes, whether of they were those of a camera or any fairy. Only the occasional stray light from below glanced off in the shadows and it danced minutely upon his jade green eyes before it was enveloped in the darkness, like a swimmer drowning in an ocean.  
  
Experimentally, he drew breath, sniffing the air. In the gloom, a smile curved his lips, a poisonous night flower blooming in the dark. They were here. They were waiting for him. Hah. as if they could challenge him. Holly had been lucky, but no more. He came to finish what he started. He meant to destroy whatever it was that impeded the destiny of the fairies.  
  
He stepped to the very edge of the building. No mistakes this time. His father had not been pleased at all. His great wings stretched to its full length. Mercury was very vain of his wings. He treasured it above most everything else. They were dark and sinuous; scales dotted the membrane near the actual bones that supported it. It moved with utmost grace, a grace that surpassed any sprite's. Thank the gods his father had been able to heal them of their hurts.  
  
For a moment, he stood upon the artificial precipice, gazing at it all. Directly below him were the golden lights of the streets and fairies. Before him lay the famous Healing Center with a myriad of lights switched on like a great beacon in the dark. He gathered his feet and pushed off. For one frightening moment, it seemed as if he would fall, but then his wings beat the air powerfully. They quickly gathered speed and he shot through the darkness faster than any bird above the world. At full speed, even if he had not been cloaked, he would not have been seen by anything.  
  
Keen eyes assessed the entire building in one fair swoop. He could not enter from the bottom or the top. The LEP would undoubtedly have the thickest security on both vertical ends of the Healing Center. However. the LEP could not have possibly wired all the windows to alarm even if they managed to keep all of them closed. The patients of Healing Central were not as well trained as the LEP. All he needed was to get in and not even that centaur would be able to see him even if he had been eyeballing the monitor. His peril lay in moving too slowly. His last fault was moving slowly. Moving slowly in the light reduced his stealth, allowing those gifted with the highest magical attunement, in most cases elves, to see him. He would remedy that. He would prove himself worthy of his gifts.  
  
The thief was about sixty feet away when he spotted an open window. It looked dark, the occupants within probably asleep. He could spot the outline of legs underneath pale green blankets on a Spartan bed. In a matter of seconds, he had slid through the window, flattening his wings against his back in order to squeeze in, and he spread the impact of his momentum by landing in a roll. Quickly, he ducked to the place where the thickest shadows lay. Just in time, a nurse had opened the door, spilling light within. She was carrying a clipboard and was muttering about lazy doctors.  
  
There were four fairies within, each of them slumbering in their beds. The beds were situated and lined against the left wall. There were partitions, a desk, and a few chairs in between each bed to allow for privacy. At the far side of the room was the door outside. The nurse stopped by each bed and looked at a machine connected to each patient.  
  
Quickly, Mercury ducked and sped past the beds. The nurse never felt a thing. Just as he slipped outside the door, he heard her say, "Oh for pity's sake, why do we have to close each window?" There was a thump, as the window was presumably slammed shut. He paused a moment, a thought occurring to him. He slipped back inside the room and closed the door softly.  
  
The nurse was now checking on the last patient with a very heavy scowl on her face. As he came closer, he read her nametag and level. Each employee within the Healing Centers were given rank in order to help determine which type of patients they could take care of and what facilities they had access to. The thief smirked: a level four-access card. Too easy.  
  
He stripped his cloak. It took the nurse a few minutes to realize that someone tall was standing behind her. She whirled around and gasped. Her eyes gazed at the form, traveling from the chest up to the face. Big mistake. Jade green eyes glimmered with power. "You will find out the location of the room of Captain Holly Short of LEPrecon as discreetly as you can and tell me. Do not tell anyone that you are looking for her room. Do not alert the LEP by any means. I shall be waiting here," he commanded, his voice deepening with the mesmer. The sprite nurse sighed and nodded. She moved away towards the exit of the room, leaving the thief to wait.  
  
This was far too easy. His position afforded him greater freedom and he could exploit it. The thief silently cloaked once more and moved to the shadows. It might take a while for the nurse to carry out the command.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~  
  
"Okay, Captain, your vitals seem to be stable with the exception of you heart. According to the readings, it's beating weakly. If we're not careful, something might interrupt the pace," said an elderly warlock. The wizened elf had come to check up on his patient. He was an elf around 2'9, thin, with a strict face like a stiff leather bag. Wide eyes the size of plates graced his face, and he had a sharp nose that emphasized the severity in his character.  
  
He removed the thin needle from her arm. The needle released nanosensors within the body, and transmitted the readings back to the screen held by the medic. It seemed that the biological make up of the newly changed elf was similar enough in make up to both fairy and human that they were able to receive reasonably conceivable diagnoses. Nevertheless, the warlock had never seen anything quite like Captain Short as she was now. "Now, let's check your physical stats, shall we?"  
  
The elf complacently performed the indicated motor functions, showing that she wasn't experiencing any defect in the body. Her body still felt so strangely new to her, and she was often clumsy. However, it seemed that physically she was fine.  
  
The warlock looked up at her from his electronic clipboard, "I received the results from your written test today. It seems that you still maintain quite the sharp mental faculties. Even better perhaps."  
  
"Now there's a shocker," said Foaly. He had been sitting to the side watching the warlock check his friend. He had remained true to his word not to interrupt the examination, but his sarcasm really just couldn't be held in check. The warlock spared him a withering glance, jotting down a note in the clipboard.  
  
"Yes, well, we can never really be too sure, as Mr. Foaly should well know," answered the doctor. He turned his attention once more to Holly. "And your magic?"  
  
Holly sighed, "We've gone over this, doctor, I get a few sparks, but that's it."  
  
The warlock nodded, his chin bobbing over the clipboard, "Yes, indeed."  
  
Holly asked worriedly, "You don't think that I lost my magic, do you?"  
  
The warlock looked up at her, "We can't know for sure, Captain. It could be that you just don't have any left due to the tremendous amount of stress your body is in. Or . In any case, we will not know until you go aboveground and perform the Ritual." The doctor began packing up his equipment. "Extraordinary, really, every time I see your statistics."  
  
Holly, despite her aversion for this form, was interested, "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, you are most definitely fairy in nature, but there are quite a few things that are not common amongst fairies. They seem human, but they cannot be human," answered the warlock. Although what he said might have made sense to Foaly, it didn't seem to make much sense to Holly. She frowned. The warlock clarified, "Take your physique, for example. It's similar to that of a few humans, but I've never seen such an advanced development of the bone and muscular system. You still retain the light density in bone that is common among fairies although for a size such as yours, it should be impossible. I hypothesize that the muscular system provides the rest of the support. And then there's your nervous system. Again, rapid and advanced development, which could explain why you possess even faster reflexes than before. I could go on for days listing the complexities of your body."  
  
Holly remained silent, turning over the facts in her mind. She supposed that there were advantages in this new form, but she didn't like it. Not one bit. She felt claustrophobic at times. "Still no ID?" she asked hopefully.  
  
The warlock shook his head, "I'm afraid not, Captain." Although the warlock was stern and a professional, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the elf. She was obviously dismayed. The medic offered a wan smile, "Don't worry. If there's a way to get you back to normal, we'll find it." He finished packing his bag. "I'll be in touch in case of updates," nodded the elder elf to the centaur and his patient. "Rest well, Captain Short." The medic bid the couple goodbye and walked out the door.  
  
Once out of earshot, Holly bit her lip and lowered herself on a chair. The reports were disturbing. She felt her pulse quickening at the thought of being trapped in this form and she stood up abruptly, pacing the room.  
  
"Calm down, Holly," said the centaur, "sit down."  
  
"Foaly, I!"  
  
"Look, we'll deal with it as it goes," said the centaur. "Now sit down and I'll tell you the news from HQ." Holly was instantly attentive. She sat back on her chair. The elf slipped and landed on her rear for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. She winced in pain, cursing vividly underneath her breath. Her temper was flaring due to the number of klutz attacks she'd been having. "Foaly," she hissed, getting to her feet. "I thought this thing was supposed to change my form, not turn me into a klutz!" The captain reached a hand for the back of a chair for support, missed, and ended up sliding over a desk. The elf's cursing was not discreet this time as she picked herself. "What is wrong with me?!"  
  
Her centaur friend tried not to snicker too loudly at Holly's blundering. "My guess is that your brain is not used to your present size, so you keep on making automatic wrong decisions. It's kind of like the way humans grow extremely fast during puberty, and they get clumsy while their brain struggles to adjust. Except no human has ever grown over two feet in a day."  
  
"I am not a human!" fumed Holly. "I am an elf!" She paused, realization hitting her few seconds after the words left her mouth. Technically, she had no idea what she was presently. Her eyes lowered momentarily before focusing on throttling Chix's throat. At least they were roughly the same size now so she could do more damage than flipping him over and firing off a round of Neutrino stun beams at him. Her fingers curled into little fists. She would get him all right.  
  
"What's the news from the Council or Birchwood?" asked Holly aloud. She would dream about beating the D'Arvit out of Chix later. "Or did you just come in here to laugh at me?" She shot daggers at the centaur who looked amused at her antics.  
  
"Actually, you might want to sit down for this one," said Foaly before smirking, "otherwise you might trip."  
  
If eyes could kill, Foaly would have been a roasting puddle of troll refuse by now. Holly walked, stiffly, to her uncomfortably small chair and managed to sit down without slipping too far either. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Foaly," muttered Holly. "So what do we know?"  
  
"Chix is definitely gone. We've interviewed all possible witnesses. His family doesn't know where he's been. He moved out of the main house around forty years ago. He stopped visiting ten years past. His friends are all clean. All we got off from them was that he'd been doing late night deliveries, which explains why he's looked exhausted for the past couple of days. They checked out too. So far, we have no leads as to where he could be. He apparently walked out of the Police Plaza and evaporated into thin air. Mercury hasn't been seen since he met Kelp's squad. A bit traumatized, I think," grinned Foaly. "He got more than a few scratches from that one."  
  
"Good for Trouble," nodded Holly approvingly. "Chix deserves that one."  
  
"If it is Chix," nodded Foaly.  
  
"What do you mean?" demanded the elf. "Of course it's Chix! You saw his face! A sun blinded troll could tell it was Chix!"  
  
"He looked a bit big, don't you think, Captain?"  
  
"No D'Arvit," growled out Holly, "What do you think I look like?"  
  
Foaly waved a dismissive, hairy arm, "That's very well and all, but as Commander Root would say, 'It's just conjecture.' We have to get to the root of the matter before anything else. Rest assured, though, that we're investigating Chix fully."  
  
Holly rolled her eyes but nodded for the centaur to continue.  
  
The centaur took a long time settling in to his chair, a strange flush gracing his cheeks. Holly raised an eyebrow at this. If Foaly was smug, then it usually meant he had hit a breakthrough. "Ahem, as I was saying," continued Foaly, "I've just hit on a breakthrough for us." He smirked, switching into lecture mode, "Magic leaves residual trace elements. Usually, the magic we do (shielding, mesmer, and healing etc.) is too small to leave too much of an impression. But if Mercury says he has magic and worked it on you, I hypothesized that a spell of that size would leave considerable traces. I took samples with the techies and voila! Now, I feed it into my computers and piggyback into a couple of Mud Men sensors worldwide. There are about 50 hits around the globe. Quite a long and short list to be investigated. But the one with the greatest amount of hits, unusually so, is Saint Bartleby's School for Young Gentlemen in County Wicklow, Ireland. Tell me I'm not the smartest creature in the universe."  
  
"That means," breathed Holly, "that there's a good chance that whatever it is, its source is in that school!" She stood up, slipped, and landed back on her seat. She growled but her excitement was palpable, "What did Root say?"  
  
"He's sending in a Recon agent as soon as he gets approval from the Council," said Foaly, the smile on his face fading slightly since he had begun telling her about his discoveries. "It seems that the Council are terribly concerned about the situation. Who could blame them? If what Mercury said is true." A cold silence descended on the room. "There could even be a remote possibility that Mud Men are involved in this." The centaur sighed, "In any case, it's an extremely high risk mission, even for Recon. Whoever is responsible for this is almost certainly expecting an agent."  
  
"True," murmured Holly, deflating slightly.  
  
"Well, Captain," said Foaly, standing up, "that's your bit of news for the night. I have to go back to headquarters. Rest up now."  
  
Holly snorted, "Foaly, I feel perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with me except for the occasional klutz attack. If Root keeps me in here much longer, I'm going to go mad."  
  
The centaur snorted. "Yeah well, that's the idea," said her friend.  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Captain, you whine too much," shot back Foaly as he proceeded to leave the room. "Oh and before you go and toss back smart insults, do go to bed first. That is, if you can handle it. One violent gesture and you might slip and break your delicate neck. That'd be a shame after all the stress you gave the warlocks." With that, the LEP technical genius shut the door and walked away, laughter shaking his shoulders.  
  
Holly scowled at Foaly's disappearing form. Annoying. So annoying. Nonetheless, as annoying as the centaur proved to be, he was right. As usual. SO annoying. The elf stood up and slipped into her bed. Although her legs stuck out at the end quite a bit, she was still of the slim build of the elven fairy people. With some degree of comfort, the hazel-eyed fairy fell asleep.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~`  
  
The nurse returned fifteen minutes after Mercury had sent her out. After ensuring that no one was following or monitoring him, the thief quickly demanded the answer. Staying in one place for too long made him antsy. However, he had used the time to devise another strategy to move about the hospital. It was extremely risky and needed to be done with utmost speed and precision. A minute's delay could prove fatal.  
  
"Captain Holly Short is registered in room P13 in the seventh floor," said the nurse, as if in a dream.  
  
The thief smirked and then said, "Good job. Now I have one last thing for you to do for me. Make as much of a commotion as you can on ALL floors. Trip all the alarms that you can and evade capture. You will not remember me. Now go."  
  
The nurse nodded and walked out of the room. It took only a minute before a fire alarm switch had been tripped. The electricity in the building was automatically switched off except for the red, flashing bulbs that indicated paths to emergency exits. Most of the hospital was plunged in a dim atmosphere. Even better for Mercury.  
  
The thief slipped out of the room and hurried along the corridor, sliding like water between various employees, patients, and guests who were running around frightened. An earthquake alarm was then tripped, followed by an emergency patient alarm. Mercury spotted various LEP officers beginning to run around in order to contain the situation.  
  
Resisting the urge to laugh insanely, the thief slid inside the stairwell and sped up. His plan was working like a charm. The nurse caused a lot of noise in one end, while he moved in to the other end. It wouldn't matter if he tripped a few alarms anyway because everybody would assume it was just the mad nurse's doing. He knew they were probably going to be waiting for him at Holly's room, but not all of them would be there. Even if they were, he was not afraid of any LEP officer. They could be easily taken care of.  
  
The thief sped past the seventh floor entrance, noting but disregarding the cameras installed in dark corners. The stairwell opened up to a long hallway with various identical doors dotting each side. The one to his left was labeled P49. Mercury quickly ran to the right, dodging the fairies moving about in a hurried manner. Many patients were being escorted out now, some with considerable difficulty due to the fact that a lot of equipment was needed to sustain them. He rushed past them. If he moved fast enough, he could make it to where Holly was before anything happened to her.  
  
In a matter of minutes, he was descending rapidly down the hallway of choice. The hallway was dimmer here, and there were not many fairies running around. It was quiet as well despite the various alarms going berserk. There was one sprite standing guard in Holly's door, and he was quickly dispatched before the sprite even knew he was there. He paused, a rare action. Hesitantly, he leaned against the door, adrenaline and excitement making his heart beat fast. What would he find beyond the doorway? He had not been able to complete the spell on Holly.  
  
He bit his lip and chastised himself for his uncertainty. Silently, he opened the door and stepped to the side. He knew he was invisible in the dim gloom, but he was not going to take chances. There was silence. He peeked in and saw no one there, but a bed and its occupant. The lights were switched off. A head of hair peeked out on top of the pillow. He approached with absolute silence, zeroing in on the figure atop the bed. From a hidden sheath, he withdrew a dagger. The blade was slim but strong. The poison it contained shone fairly and coldly in the darkness. In that moment where he was poised to sink the blade on the still form's head, darkness rushed to claim him. The shadows were deep and opaque, engulfing his body until all that could be seen were his eyes. They too were beginning to be lost. Then he swung, the cool metal singing a high-pitched requiem as it arced in the air and fell irrevocably.  
  
Bright, hot, white lights flooded the area with as much subtlety as a tidal wave. The fairy underneath the sheets rolled quickly to one side and flipped up a neatly hidden Neutrino Blaster from underneath the sheet. The knife stabbed the pillow where her head had been moments before. He cursed and quickly withdrew it. That was a mistake.  
  
He was hit several times by the Neutrino. Despite the fact that the armor he wore underneath negated most of the blasts, he could feel it sizzling through his cells. He cursed.  
  
"Like, freeze, Mercury!" rang a shrill, high voice. Mercury was momentarily distracted by it, and he looked to where the fairy was in position of firing at point blank range. In the darkness, it would have been impossible for any fairy to tell without some sort of aid, but the thief had also been gifted with night vision. He couldn't hold back the surprise and he drew breath.  
  
"That's right, freak, you fell for our trap," said the female smugly. Actually, the only other female LEP field employee besides Holly Short. Lili Frond, the bimbo poster girl of the LEP, took a moment to dramatically tear off her close crop red wig whilst still pointing her Neutrino at Mercury's chest. Blond tresses fell down her shoulders. During her little banter with the thief, several other officers had flooded inside the room. Some blocked the window and the others blocked the doorway. More crowded in the hallway outside and the emergency bars on the windows were activated. "Now drop the weapon and stick 'em up before we're forced to fry you!" commanded Lili.  
  
A trap. He had fallen for a trap. He knew that they were trapping him, but his arrogance had blinded him to the true nature of the trap. He gritted his teeth, anger burrowing deep inside his chest. Cold eyes appraised the situation. Not only had they duped him to go inside a cramped room, but also all the officers were fully equipped elves. Foaly must have noticed that most of the officers who could see him were elves.  
  
"Okay," he said slowly. "I'm dropping the weapon."  
  
"Good, now, t-" Lili never got to finish her sentence. The dagger had dropped point first in the floor, resulting in a small explosion that rendered a hole in the floor. The thief quickly dropped through it, grabbed onto the weapon, and cloaked. Loud curses erupted from the LEP operatives as some quickly gave chase.  
  
However, the thief was near invisible now and was employing all the speed and craft he had in flight to escape. He crashed through a window in one room and quickly took flight. His form shimmered out of visibility entirely in the darkness of the tunnels. Not even elves could see him now.  
  
Nonetheless, as the wind whistled past him, Mercury was far from satisfied. He had yet again fallen for another trap of the LEP's. No doubt, as his master said, that being seen in camera would prove disadvantageous. The game was getting more dangerous. In addition, he had not eliminated Holly as he had intended to do. Father would be enraged. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In an extra room in the LEP headquarters, Holly Short slept, a frown forming between her brows. She trembled a little, and her heart jumped. A sigh escaped from her lips and she murmured, "No."  
  
The next day Holly was in the Ops Booth with Foaly. She had insisted that she felt well enough to walk the short way there, and she and her friend had taken precautions to ensure that no one saw her. In light of the near catch of Mercury, the elf also insisted that she wanted the information first hand.  
  
The red haired fairy alternately held her breath with excitement when Foaly told her of the plans and groaned when she heard the feed of Lili playing macho with Mercury. There was a loud explosion, followed by several expletives tearing themselves violently out many fairies' mouths. Holly looked questioningly toward Foaly.  
  
"As near we can tell," shrugged the centaur, "he dropped a concentrated bomb to the floor. Some officers, however, claim that was his dagger."  
  
Holly nodded. "What did Root say when he saw the report for this?" she asked.  
  
"He was red. Ah, that is, he was purpler than usual," snickered the centaur.  
  
The elf smiled ruefully, "There wasn't much the LEP commandos could do besides what they had already done. I just wish that Trouble had been the one to lead the team. If he had been, he would have shot 'till unconsciousness and asked questions later."  
  
Foaly nodded, "True, but the commander is in a lot of stress lately."  
  
"Yes, it's been crazy these last few months for the LEP," affirmed the captain.  
  
"Not only that, but with this lead for Mercury dried up," added the golden eyed fairy, "he has no choice but to send in a Recon agent to that Mud Men school. Let me tell you, that place is a nightmare for Recon. It's a huge cathedral and monastery converted to an up to date school for the rich Mud Men's children.  
  
Apparently, it was an unfinished structure and the Roman Catholic Church would have renovated it entirely if it hadn't been for the government education officials. They bought it from the Church then had aristocrats sign pledges to help build the school. The cathedral and monastery were built in full size plus the modern embellishments. The curriculum is strictly religious, the pay per semester a whopping ten thousand euro, and the parents are required to make many more donations.  
  
The estate itself is around 500 acres and it encompasses an equestrian center, various large sports fields, several large gardens, an Olympic sized outdoor pool, and then just more property. The monastery is a luxury boarding house complete with central heating, plumbing, electricity, and more. The cathedral is even larger! It has six floors and six towers with an addition three more floors in each tower. There are about 200 rooms that house the various classrooms and departments, but the centerpiece is the main floor, which has the room for masses.  
  
It would take weeks to cover that place, and that's not adding in the fact that several of these facilities are hard to get into. Impossible to do it in the time frame night gives us."  
  
Holly bit her lip, "That means we're going to have to do several Recons with several agents if we're supposed to contain the situation soon. What about the time stop?"  
  
"You kidding me?" asked Foaly. "The Fowl Estate was hard enough to contain and it had all that we needed to set up the machines. This place is much bigger, and it has a lot more people. There's no guarantee the number of people we're going to have to mind wipe or mesmer. It's a nightmare to do that much technical operation at the same time. Plus, if the residual trace elements there do signify magic similar to that of Mercury's, it could negate the time stop right in the middle of the investigation and then we're in really deep D'Arvit."  
  
The elf simply sat back in her chair, at a loss for words.  
  
The door hissed open as Commander Root marched inside the room, looking quite red. "Well, Foaly, anything on the tapes?" he asked. "Did the behavioral psychologists say anything?"  
  
The centaur shrugged, "Nothing that we don't already know. Apparently to make a concrete profile we need visual and not just audio evidence."  
  
"D'Arvit," swore the commander.  
  
"What did the Council say, chief?" asked Foaly.  
  
Root glanced at Holly before saying, "They want LEP to pursue Mercury. Given the nature of St. Bartleby's, the most they'll let us do is a fly by."  
  
Holly's mouth dropped open, "I object, commander! St. Bartleby's is our best lead yet. With due respect to the LEP, we haven't been able to capture Mercury and it doesn't seem likely that we ever will in the near future. Reconnaissance in the Mud Man school is vital to the case."  
  
"And what would you do, Captain?" shot back Root. "We have our orders and we cannot disobey them. Frankly, I see no way to cover a thorough reconnaissance of that school."  
  
Holly took a breath, "Sir, I have an idea.." From the way Root's eyes narrowed, anyone could tell he was not in the mood to humor her or anyone's ideas presently. Nonetheless, the elf plunged on recklessly, "Send me in."  
  
The inevitable explosion from the commander was not long in coming. "Have you gone mad?!" he roared. "You can't even fit in a LEP jumpsuit much less get on wings to do a reconnaissance! And you think you can do a recon of a 500 acre estate in one night!"  
  
The elf winced, but her voice remained strong, "Sir, it's impossible to do a reconnaissance in one night. That's a fact. However, the reconnaissance I plan to do will stretch over several weeks. If it works, you can have full coverage. At worst, we could just find out we're wrong and pull out quietly."  
  
"How do you plan to remain undetected?" asked Root sarcastically. "In case you haven't noticed, you don't exactly." Root trailed off, eyes widening in comprehension. Behind him, Foaly gave an eager whinny.  
  
"That's right," breathed the centaur. "You look similar enough to Mud Men. Provided you stay away from medical examinations, you should fit right in."  
  
"You two have gone daft," snapped the commander disgustedly. "Can you even comprehend the risks we're running? You're talking about sending an agent into a completely foreign environment knowing next to nothing about it. A thousand things could go wrong. Oh, and let's not forget that the school is called 'St. Bartleby's School for Young Gentlemen.'"  
  
"Not exactly next to nothing, Commander," objected Foaly. "We know enough about Mud Men to impersonate them for a few weeks. It's perfectly feasible."  
  
Holly nodded vigorously, "All we'd need is for Foaly to give me a fake identity, fake credits, and then I'm a student going through the school. No one will be any wiser if I were snooping around. No attention to fairies. Perfect cover. Commander, this could seriously work."  
  
Although the LEP superior's objections had been vehement, they were now alleviated with sufficient proof. Yes, there dangers, but so did all LEPrecon missions. It was not entirely safe, but it was also much safer than sending in a recon agent in the dark to snoop around for gods knew what. Foaly could tell the cogs clicking in Root's brain.  
  
"Also," he added in an undertone, "it's a way to keep Holly safe. Julius, we know that Mercury wants to kill her and from what it looks like it will only be a matter of time before she's found. Aboveground, he won't be able to move or follow her. She'll be safer there."  
  
Root growled at Foaly, "Don't call me, Julius, donkey boy." But inwardly, he had started to assent to the plan. It was a very dangerous plan, but it was the only way to move forward in a dangerous case. Mercury was a great enemy to the public, and if left unchecked he could do serious damage. "All right, all right, I approve," relented Root finally. "But this operation has to be completely aboveboard. That means Council approval and full regulation implementation. I don't want to be responsible for the life of one of my officers." He looked Holly in the eye, and said with gravity, "Captain, I want you to understand that this is an extremely risk mission. There is a great possibility that your life will be terminated while in this operation. Are you willing to take that chance? You don't have to do this."  
  
Holly licked her lips and nodded. "I've risked my life for Haven before. I'm prepared to do it again. Changing bodies has not changed the way I felt," she answered steadily. Hazel eyes, perhaps her only feature that remained untouched in her transformation, was lit with a fire that was not found in neither hearth or lightning. She was 100% aware and 100% certain.  
  
"Oh and one last thing, Captain," said Root wryly. "How do you plan to go in an all male school?"  
  
The elf had the decency to look abashed, "Well, I got in recon, didn't I?" Foaly's full throated, hearty, horselaugh rang out of the Ops Booth. 


	7. Intermezzo I: In the dark

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all other related characters are not mine. They are the works of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
  
Intermezzo I: In the dark  
  
One day after the Tater heist.  
  
Mercury was standing amidst darkness atop a triangular platform. His face twisted in a grimace. One hand held a shoulder that had been clipped by a blast from a Neutrino. He had not fared so well from his firefight with Captain Kelp and his squad. His cloak was ripped and it hung in tattered shreds about his shoulder. His features were ashen underneath the darkened complexion. His left cheek suffered from a cut that would not heal. If he were a regular sprite, the magic would heal that. But no more. Oh well. Small prices to pay for a greater gift.  
  
An unusual sprite in an unusual place. All around him was darkness that seemed to undulate like a serpent. There was a greenish tinge to this darkness, almost like slime. The platform he was standing upon was extremely old. It was of a plain, stone build except for the small stairs leading up to it. There were flowing designs on either side of the steps reaching up towards the top. The platform could only be discerned for the faint light falling on it as though from a great height.  
  
"I'm okay," he said aloud although no one was near. "I was caught in a firefight with that muscle moron, Kelp. I got followed, yes, but nothing happened to me. I think so."  
  
He visibly flinched at something. "It was really only a matter of time," he said before his voice was silenced. "We should be proud and show everyone the truth." He paused once more, "No, only Holly did. Holly Short. She's the first female officer in Recon squad. Y-yes." His shoulder shook and his face whipped violently to the side as though something had hit him. "You said I could do it to anyone I wanted!" he protested, stumbling on his feet. "Holly would be perfect as one of us." He shuddered, took a deep breath, and said, "No, no, I didn't. Kelp got in the way. I don't know if she was. I don't know how they followed me. Holly updated her wings and she was able to catch up. She must have radioed her coordinates to Foaly if she wasn't already being tracked with her locator." He frowned. "They probably must have taken her to the Healing Center. Yes, yes, I will." His face paled at words no one else but he could hear. "Yeah, I will as soon as you heal me. Yes, I know. She's dangerous."  
  
Mercury sighed, "Thank you, Father." A few minutes later, red light began surrounding the platform and it engulfed his tall figure within.  
  
Two days after the last scene in Act One.  
  
Holly glared balefully at Corporal Grub Kelp's waddling behind as they skirted the shielded throng of fairies dancing under the full moon. The couple was far enough away from the drunken crowd for any to notice them. Just in case, Kelp had shielded and Holly had wrapped an extra long cam foil sheet around her like a cloak. Their objective was to complete the Ritual, but it also needed to be done in absolute secrecy. The last thing Holly needed was for rumors underground about the freak Holly Short going aboveground. But still.  
  
Of all the people who would be assigned to escort her aboveground to Tara, it had to be him. The one fairy who could find a thousand and one excuses not to do his job, the one fairy who could make up a thousand and one excuses not to do anything, and the one fairy who could make up a thousand and one complaints about everything.  
  
Someone up there must really despise her.  
  
The Corporal was escorting her to Tara specifically to ensure that nothing happened to her from completing the Ritual up until she was dropped off in Dublin. The team underground had rushed to prepare Holly once approval from the Council was given to make it in time for the full moon.  
  
Holly winced at the memory. The Council had been extremely difficult to convince. If it hadn't been for Commander Root vouching full support for Holly and Wing Commander Vinyaya's faith in her, they wouldn't have gone through with it at all. There were conditions of course.  
  
She had to remain completely disguised at all times was one. Another condition was that Foaly would be monitoring her most times. Thirdly, she was to remain in constant contact with the LEP to report her findings. Fourthly, all her fairy equipment had explosives implanted in them in case of discovery. Fifthly, she was to obey commands at all times. And of course, one could not forget that she needed to have her magic with her. Just to make sure, she was ordered to complete the Ritual in the most magical place on Earth.  
  
The Council was not the only people who had been reluctant to let Holly go. The warlock meds had been almost adamant in making Holly stay. Her condition had been stable, true, but they wanted to conduct further tests just in case. Holly shuddered at the thought of being an experiment or a specimen they would dissect in their labs. No way was she staying for them.  
  
Ahh, the magic was calling to her. Holly had plucked an acorn seed in a dark shadow of the mighty oak where the fairy revelers would not notice her. Grub Kelp was inspecting his new boots that seemed to have a few spots on from walking in the dirt. He opened his mouth and Holly rolled her eyes. Without a doubt, he was going to complain.  
  
The elf decided to ignore him and began walking far away. She cast a regretful look back to the shielded fairies. They were dancing and frolicking in a wild manner under the full moon. It had been a long time since she had danced under the moon as well. There was a great chance that she might never dance under it if the magic did not work.  
  
About five hundred feet away, the red haired fairy chose a dark spot near the water, secluded from the stray fairies that were streaming to the chosen spot near Tara. There were large trees rising like sentries at the bank with extremely thick underbrush. It was far too crowded for humans and fairies alike. Nobody would be able to see them either. Kelp followed obligingly, but he was too busy telling Holly about his boots and complaining about her choice of location to notice much of anything.  
  
Again, Holly resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It hadn't even bothered Grub at all that Holly had changed. He bulldozed into his whining habits as usual as if they were on chute surveillance duty. Holly wondered fleetingly if the sight of her juggling Atlantean stink balloons would be enough to make Grub stop. Probably not. She sighed before turning her attention to the task at hand.  
  
The female licked her lips nervously. There really was no predictable outcome to this Ritual. The magic not returning to her would be one of the kinder courses of action to tell the truth. She might just be struck dead on the spot. That was also possible. Don't think about it, Holly, don't think about it, she told herself.  
  
She fought with the underbrush until she was near the water. Then Holly knelt and dug her left hand into the soft damp Earth. She handled it delicately, turning it over, before deciding on a comfortable spot. Her right hand then dug into the space, and she whispered, "I return you to the Earth. And claim the gift that is my right."  
  
Nothing happened for several moments. Dread washed over Holly. Even Corporal Kelp was watching now. Just as he was about to voice the anxious question waiting in his throat, a flood of magic descended on Holly like a tidal wave. Magic collected from everything: the trees, the air, the rocks, the Earth, even from the very Moon and stars. It shimmered to the visible spectrum and flashed spectacularly. It looked as if a flash bomb had exploded, illuminating a circle with a fifty-foot radius, and Holly at the center.  
  
The individual sparks banded together into concentric waves before slamming into Holly. The elf was suspended several feet from the ground, twitching at the intensity of the magic crashing into her. The magic poured into every fiber of her being, cramming into every pore. In a mere matter of seconds, there was not a bit of her fully saturated with it. This was not like the previous Rituals she had completed before. This felt entirely different. Yet more came, faster and faster. All of this came inside her, filling her in a space she never knew was empty before. Her spine arced and her limbs thrashed, trembling at the full force. This felt so good. A wild laugh tore out her throat.  
Grub looked frightened. The force of the magic had created a forceful gale whipping around Holly. He firmly attached himself to a tree whose leaves were shaking and boughs creaking underneath the intensity of the light. This assignment was not going as planned. Holly Short was supposed to, at best, regain her magic as well as her normal form and go back underground. If she regained only her magic, then she was to be escorted to the drop off point. If she did not, then she was to be escorted back underground anyway. This was a covert operation with high security. He had been fairly confident no one saw him or her but no guarantees now. He may as well have shot fireworks into the sky for all the attention the magic was doing. Really, this was not supposed to happen. The magic was in question of not returning to Holly. It was not supposed to come in overdose. Besides, he had never heard of over a minute of power restoring Rituals. He knew that the most they could go on was a minute.  
  
Just when Grub thought of contacting HQ for further instructions, the lights stopped. The last bands were absorbed inside Holly and the remaining dispersed into the air. The fairy was dropped back to the ground and would have landed most ungracefully had it not been for her quick reflexes and training in the LEP academy. She landed catlike on her feet. Grub goggled at her from behind the tree.  
  
Holly looked most surprised. She rose weakly, unsure of herself. In the Ritual, she had hoped that she might change back to her true form. Instead, she seemed more solidly big than ever. Not only that, the magic was gone. She could feel it no longer. She felt no different from when she was drained of her magic. Panic swelled inside her.  
  
"What.what's happened to me?" she asked hoarsely for the second time in a week.  
  
Grub approached from behind, brown eyes looking alarmed and afraid. "C- Captain," he began but did not continue.  
  
Holly had reared back, stumbling away from him. "What happened to me!" she cried in desperation. "Where did it go? Where did all the magic go!" The distraught fairy called it back but nothing, absolutely nothing responded. She gasped for breath.  
  
"H-Holly!" screamed Grub. "Wait! Wait a minute!" He watched in panic as the taller fairy stumbled around, eyes half mad. Worse, it would only be a matter of time before the other fairies grew brave enough to venture into the undergrowth. "Holly, listen to me! We can open a channel to Foaly! We can figure it out! Holly!" But it was no use. Holly was not listening to him now.  
  
Breathing sharply, Holly wheeled around, but she was not used to such quick movements in her new form. The female stumbled and fell. Her knee scraped the ground and blood spilled from the open wound. The younger of the Kelp brothers called out to her, but she wasn't listening. She wasn't listening any more because she saw the magic zipping her wound closed. It had not deserted her after all. It was still there, automatically healing her.  
  
"Grub," she said, "Did you see?" Grub looked at her questioningly, still frightened of her.  
  
"Oh come here, you baby!" snapped Holly brusquely. Grub immediately followed. This was the Holly he knew: commanding and to the point. Experimentally, Holly picked up a broken shell from the riverside and slashed her forearm. Blood spilled, but was quickly zipped up by magic. "It's here after all," she said. "It's inside me. I just can't call to it."  
Grub, who had looked terrified at Holly wounding herself, nodded blankly. "Uh, yeah." muttered the Corporal. "Lemme just go and call Commander Root on that."  
  
"Oh, no, you don't," said Holly, pouncing on the smaller fairy. "Listen, Root said that I could proceed with the mission so long as the magic returned to me. It did, didn't it?"  
  
Grub nodded mutely. Holly was bearing down on him most threateningly and he had no desire to be squashed.  
  
"That means we can proceed with the mission as planned," nodded Holly satisfactorily. "Now, we had better go before fairies start coming in. Let's get back to the vehicle and place the call. We're going to Dublin."  
  
Grub nodded mutely once more. Who was he to argue with a superior officer in both rank and size? Wordlessly, he gave her the small case containing her earpieces. Holly accepted it and slipped them on. The two of them started jogging swiftly and silently away from the area.  
  
"Oh and Grub." called Holly to the younger fairy as he began walking away to the fairy terminal. "If I hear one word of this spilled out to anyone, anyone, and I swear I'll tell LEP the one time you peed in your jumpsuit while we were containing those goblins from the B'WaKell."  
  
Grub jumped as though she had hit him with a buzz baton. "You wouldn't dare," he said loudly.  
  
"Wouldn't I?" challenged Holly.  
  
Corporal Kelp paused, realizing his situation. Holly was not Trouble. Therefore, he did not know of as many embarrassing stories about Trouble as he did of Holly. The most he knew of her were from the Artemis Fowl stories circulating around the Lower Elements and the few times Trouble talked about Holly. "All right," sulked the elf.  
  
"That's a good fairy," winked Holly. She switched on the radio option over her earpieces. "Foaly, you there?"  
  
"Liar, liar, pants on fire," sang Foaly over the frequency. "You should tell Root the truth."  
  
"You saw?"  
  
"Of course I saw it," said Foaly, returning to his businesslike voice. "I was monitoring Grub's helmet feed from the start. Besides, that lightshow caught my cameras right away. There'll be a squad coming down there any minute now."  
  
"Foaly, don't tell Root," begged the elf immediately. "You know he'll never let me go, but I have to do this."  
  
"Holly," said the centaur reproachfully. "I don't mind breaking a few rules here and there, but there is a limit to what I do. That thing you experienced. that was not an ordinary Ritual. I have no idea what happened to you."  
  
Holly bit her lip. "True." she admitted. "I'm not sure myself."  
  
"So what did you feel?" asked the golden-eyed centaur, leaning back in his swivel chair. "I saw so much magic in one area than I've ever seen in a squadron of LEP elf commandos running hot."  
  
"I felt good," said Holly, looking surprised herself. "It was kind of like running hot. but so much better. Everything I feel in a Ritual, a thousand times more intense."  
  
"I see," said Foaly, and Holly knew he was frowning from the Ops Booth. "And?"  
  
"It disappeared. I don't know why or how. All I know is that it's inside me. It heals my wounds automatically, but I can't do much with it. Nothing at all to tell you the truth."  
  
"Holly, that's bad," warned the centaur. "If you don't have command of your magic."  
  
"Foaly, listen to me," said the elf urgently. "I can't use my magic in excess in any case if I don't want to blow my cover. The primary purpose of the magic was to heal me in case of emergency. Plus, what good am I going to do underground? I'll just be stuck bothering you in Ops. Foaly, please. Let me handle this."  
  
The centaur considered it. Grub was walking back, presumably with the clearance. "All right," he relented. "Fine, fine. But if Root finds out, then I had no part in this."  
  
"Absolutely no idea," promised Holly.  
  
"All right, Captain," said Foaly. "I have to break up now. Magma flares are coming up. Best of luck to you."  
  
"You too," responded Holly switching off the transmission. "Ready?" she asked Grub.  
  
A few hours later.  
  
The night air streamed inside an open window. It was chill and cool, slipping cold fingers inside the room. The full moon traveled outsidde, bathing whatever it could find with an ethereal, silver glow. The incandescent orb sailed past the vault of dark heaven, drawing silvery, gray clouds as its cape.  
  
Slowly, very slowly, it inched its way across the room, revealing a carpeted floor, a desk, and finally the foot of a bed. As slowly as the tides but as inexorably as the rise and fall of the sun, it illumed the figure sleeping underneath the white sheets.  
  
The boy had night black hair like the shadows themselves. They seemed so dark they almost had a violet sheen in them. The boy had a creamy complexion, as pale as the moon itself, and long, dark sooty lashes that contrasted with the pallor of his skin. His features were finely chiseled, like a sculpture.  
  
The youth tossed in his comfortable bed. His brows furrowed in concentration and thought. His flickering eyes beneath his lids suggested a dream.  
  
I know.. I know that I am dreaming. I see glimpses of someone. Auburn hair? Pointy ears. flashing hazel eyes. This person.. No, not a person. I know her. I know her. The boy's vision was dim, as though he were watching a scene at night with sunglasses. He caught flashes of something. someone. Several people. They teased the corner of his vision, but danced back into the darkness before closer inspection could reveal their secrets. He tried to call out to them, to say something, but his voice refused to cooperate.  
  
Dim, shadowy figures teased his eyes once more. There was something.no, someone burrowing underneath the Earth as though it were water. There was someone else, a short, squat figure. He seemed to be smoking a cigar. The lit tip was the only light in the surrounding darkness.  
  
A scene played itself before his eyes. That girl again. she was standing some ways in front of him with her back turned towards him. Wings graced her back. No, they were not wings. They were mechanical wings. How? She glanced back, her eyes gazing at him sidelong with hints of playful merriment in them but underlined with fiery strength. She lifted her right hand to display her thumbs up before she lifted up into the air, a graceful take off. Then she vanished out of sight.  
  
It was snatched away from him once more as he heard a voice yelling at him. He tried to turn around to see who it was, but all around him was darkness. His breath caught in his throat. Darkness. Alone. Totally alone. He shuddered, eyes swinging around desperately to see someone. He forced his rising fear down, focusing on the voice.  
  
"To remind you that deep beneath the layers of deviousness, you have a spark of decency. Perhaps you could blow on that spark occasionally," said the voice. There was a flash of light and something glinted in the darkness, a spark of gold. Somehow, he caught it. It was a gold medallion. It lay at the very center of his open palm and glowed in the darkness with a life of its own. There was a hole in it: dead center. His fingers slowly curled over it.  
  
Although he couldn't see, he could feel the ground beneath him shaking and beginning to fall apart. He tried with all his might, but he couldn't help but yell as he plummeted straight through the air.  
  
The boy arced straight up on his bed, gasping for breath. His heart thudded madly in his ribcage. He took a few moments to calm his racing breaths. When he opened his eyes once more, sapphire eyes gazed dully at the open window. That dream. he had been having such dreams on and off for over the past two years. His gaze fell at his clenched fist. He opened them slowly. There was nothing there. But his fingers had been clenched tightly around something he thought he had that the imprints had dug into his soft flesh.  
  
He was missing something. He didn't know what it was, but he was missing something. His attention was drawn to the window where headlights from a car glowed. The vehicle was makings its way down to where the estate was. Strange. There were not many visitors after dark.  
  
He would have gotten up to investigate but sleep was calling him back to the pillows once more. Gently, he lay down and curled up in the ring of light the moon made on his bed. They once said that people who slept by the light of the moon went mad. But he had seen the full moon before with someone. Someone who had said .  
  
Sleep claimed the youth, and this time his dreams were untroubled and serene. 


	8. St Bartleby's Institute for Young Gentle...

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are the works of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
  
Act 2: Masquerade  
  
Scene One: St. Bartleby's Institute for Young Gentlefolk  
  
The full moon bathed the countryside in a pale glow. In the horizon, sweet green hills rolled off in the distance. Fertile, dark green trees dotted the rolling plains. This land was sweet and tame. The Mud Men had yet to corrupt it fully. But although the wind that blew into the limousine she was traveling in was fresh and cool, she could definitely smell the pollutants in it. She sighed.  
  
St. Bartleby was located in a rural area of about thirty or twenty miles away from the nearest urban center. As Foaly said, the estate was extremely large. The actual grounds were separated from the surroundings by a neat, red-bricked wall ten feet high and a foot wide. As the Mud Man vehicle approached, Holly could discern the six towers of the cathedral spiraling against the sky, like iron gray fangs striking a vault of darkness. The monastery's rounded ceiling hunched some ways away from the actual cathedral.  
  
The road she was traveling in presently was well marked and well kept. It wound through the countryside and snaked into the ornate black metal gate that barred the main entrance to the estate of St. Bartleby. It was quaint and of a style from the Victorian era. It contrasted sharply with the late Medieval/Gothic cathedral that towered several hundred feet behind it. But as Holly approached, quaint began to diminish due to the sheer size of the gate. It was very large, around sixty feet in width. Two sixteen wheelers abreast could pass easily through the gate.  
  
The limousine paused in front of the large gate, under the light of two powerful lamplights that extended from the wall. They created a circle of light with a radius of about ten feet. Holly guessed that they were extensions from the mechanisms that operated the gate. In the gloom, the elf saw the two cameras jutting from the shadows. They were still cameras, intended to monitor the activity in the front gate.  
  
The driver descended and approached the intercom placed on the side of the wall. The LEP had placed a call to a rent-a-limousine place and left Holly, along with all her baggage, in the sidewalk of a ritzy hotel somewhere in Dublin. The driver had simply assumed that Holly was the son of one of the tenants in the hotel, and put all her baggage in the trunk. Of course, he had look puzzled at the time he was called and why no one but he was there, but he had kept quiet. He was paid handsomely for his services, even for such a ways as a ride to Wicklow.  
  
From the back, Holly had instructed the driver the address of her destination and also told him to give her name to the intercom when they approached the gate. Obediently, the driver stepped out of the car and walked close to the buzzing intercom. He pressed the metal button.  
  
"Who is it?" asked a low, deep voice.  
  
The driver shivered at the depth of the voice and was glad for the warmth his snug uniform provided. "It's Master Alexei Forster, sir," he said. He looked around from under the brim of his cap. The place was, for some reason he could not fathom, giving him the chills. "Come from Dublin to enroll in St. Bartleby."  
  
"Wait a moment," said the voice. Although it was polite, there was a quality in it that brooked no arguments. The driver was only too happy to comply. He returned to the limousine, glad to be out of the night air. Holly heard the entire thing from her open window. Thankfully, her fairy senses had only been sharpened by her change. She perceived her temporary employee's mood, and silently concurred. There was something odd about St. Bartleby, something sinister, despite the facade it used as a church. In fact, the disguise as a church only more sharply tingled her senses.  
  
In a few minutes, twin spotlights appeared within the gated estate. A small car was approaching, crunching upon the gravel driveway. It stopped when it reached the gate, and a large man descended. The figure dressed in a drab gray uniform stepped closer and closer, and withdrew a rather large key from a ring of keys and inserted it into a lock. Holly realized that a small door was inlaid in the metalworking of the gate. The man stooped through the gate and stepped into the light.  
  
The figure was gaunt, thin, and very tall. Despite his hoarse appearance, Holly could immediately discern the strength in his build. He reminded Holly of a pike. He approached the driver and looked into the window. By now, the driver was quite spooked and looked pale underneath the spotlight. He looked with wide eyes at what looked like an undertaker in the horror flick he had watched with his girlfriend last week.  
  
The man's eyes seemed to shine with inner mirth at the driver's fear, but then they were drawn away, attracted to the back of the limousine. The LEP had not thought a stretch limousine essential to the charade but they had given Holly a limousine, which was enough. Holly had not closed her window and she was still seated in the edge of the backseat. She could see the man quite well in the light, and she had been watching him as he had looked at her driver.  
  
She stiffened at his approach, but smoothed her expression to a cool mask. Her eyes looked to the side, head cocked to the side, the very picture of rich snobbery and totally uncaring towards the man who moved to scrutinize her.  
  
The man growled. It was a sound coming from deep inside his throat and rumbled in his chest. It was an indiscernible sound by human standards, but quite audible to Holly. Her eyes whipped to face him, hazel fire flashing in their depths. She realized her mistake by acknowledging the sound a split second after she made the action, but had no choice to go along with it.  
  
She pitched her voice lower, "Problems?"  
  
The man looked taken aback by her action. One, dark, thick brow raised up and he said in a rough voice as though unused to talking, "No. no problem."  
  
"Can we get on with it then?" she demanded. "It's cold outside."  
  
The man nodded clumsily. "Sister Carmen is expecting you in the cathedral. Just follow the main road. Can't miss it," he grunted. He walked back to the small gate and closed it behind him. He moved his small vehicle away from the driveway and from his seat, clicked on a small remote that swung open the large gates. As he moved away, Holly noticed something curious. His stride was long and loping, and he had extremely long arms. It reminded her of something, but she couldn't place what it was.  
  
The limousine started forward and they were wounding through an avenue of elegant chestnut and oak, their leaves just starting to turn into beautiful shades of brown and gold. Holly's sharp gaze lingered on the man who had been watching their progress. His eyes were deep-set and hidden by shadows, but she could tell he was watching them by the way his face moved to follow the limousine. Then the shadows swallowed him, and all Holly could see were the trees flickering past. Even at a full moon, the shadows in the estate were dark.  
  
The car drove slowly down the full avenue to where the cathedral was. It was a quite a distance and took about ten minutes. From a distance, it had been imposing. From up close as Holly was now, it was oppressive. It stood larger and grander than the Fowl Manor. It was obviously one of the cathedrals whose construction had been stretched over a century so the constructers' goals had been conflicting. However, the predominating style of the cathedral was Gothic. Flying buttresses exuded an aura of sheer pride and majesty. Stone gargoyles and other horrific monsters meant to scare sinners into repentance jutted from stone parapets and stood upon pedestals. Hundreds of dark windows flickered in the moonlight. Carvings and stone reliefs were crammed into every available surface; some were of saints while others were of passages from the human Judaeo-Christian Bible.  
  
A flight of stone steps elevated walkers into the main floor of the cathedral. Like the gate, the doors inside were also very huge and also highly decorated. Holly made sure to take the entire structure in through her ear set. The limousine stopped in front of these steps. The driver hopped out and opened the door for Holly.  
  
Holly took a deep breath, made sure that the large earpieces covered her pointy ears fully, and stepped out, pulling a small briefcase behind her. Master "Alexei Forster" smoothed his blazer and slacks, and told the driver, "Stay here for a moment. This might take several minutes." He walked purposefully up the steps. Since the arrival of the limousine, a small door made invisible by the various decorations of the thick oak doors had slid open and a woman with iron gray hair dressed in a severe habit of a nun's stood atop the steps.  
  
"Good evening, sir. Master Alexei Forster?" greeted the woman. Alexei nodded. "My name is Sister Carmen, the administrator of St. Bartleby. Come inside then." She opened the door and stepped through. Alexei followed with some trepidation.  
  
Inwardly, the elf was wincing. Fairies avoided places of reverence for the same reason they avoided going aboveground in daylight except when absolutely necessary. Daylight faded their magic. Religious objects or places disrupted the magic inside fairies, thus causing them pain. If a fairy entered a place of extreme reverence or belief, then that belief would start to wash away the magic from the fairy effectively killing them. If ingested, it would eat them from inside out. However since the humans were beginning to wane in belief, this danger had dwindled into an uncomfortable tingle. In addition, since this was not an official cathedral, mostly a school, and most of the masses were probably meant for show, there should be only a very weak force of belief in the area.  
  
Somewhat surprised, Holly didn't feel a thing. Thanking her stars that Foaly's hypothesis had been correct, Alexei now turned his attention towards his surroundings. The door opened to a very large hallway that was initially meant to hold the main masses. Now, however, the benches had been hidden somewhere else and various doors stood closed in the gloom. The dim lighting that had been meant as a courtesy to Alexei was far too weak to fully illuminate the interior, but the red haired boy guessed that, judging from the sounds and the air currents, the dimensions were cavernous.  
  
The nun had proceeded only a few feet before opening a door to her left. She gestured for the boy to go in and Alexei did so with some trepidation. This place was beginning to remind her of those horror movie castles. He dismissed such silly thoughts and took a look around this room. Yet again, he was in another hallway with several more rooms behind handsome, polished redwood doors. The walls were paneled with a handsome wood, oak presumably, and their shade was lighter in contrast to the doors. Paintings hung on the wall of past nuns and priests. Alexei assumed that they had probably worked for the school before. Electric torches dimly lit this hallway. The couple walked up to about the middle before Sister Carmen opened another door.  
  
They were in an office of some size. Overhead lights were switched on to reveal several computer terminals behind a long, low desk in the far side of the room. Alexei could see the outlines of a green door behind it. To the left and right were two doors each. Most of the room was for conference, however, and several comfortable chairs and couches were available for the people who visited it.  
  
"Do sit down, Mr. Forster," said Sister Carmen, pointing to a chair. Alexei slipped down the chair, eyes now following Sister Carmen. The nun had switched on a computer behind a desk, and was going through a program. "I hope you have all your papers with you as well as your parent signatures? It was really best if they could have been here. It's been a month since the first semester opened after all."  
  
"Mrs. Forster is dead," answered Alexei expressionlessly, "Mr. Forster is in a diplomatic mission to Czechoslovakia. He was planning on taking me along, but the government didn't give the permit at the last second. He had to send me here along with all the necessary paperwork."  
  
"Yes," said the nun. "I spoke to your father over the phone. He also spoke of your handicap." Her eyes lingered curiously on the mechanical contraptions that fully hid Alexei's ears before asking, " Do you have the medical papers?" Alexei nodded. He opened his leather briefcase, slipped out a file marked medical, and passed it to Sister Carmen.  
  
Holly knew they were going to pass muster. The People had been able to fake all of Alexei Forster's identity. Foaly had opened up a large bank account for him, made a considerable sum of counterfeit physical euros, faked a file in the Irish government detailing his father's life that could be accessed only by school computers, and even talked to Sister Carmen using another machine to disrupt his natural voice in order to impersonate the phantom Mr. Forster. In addition to that, the genius centaur had also run a medical condition for Alexei. He had a genetic hearing disorder so he was wearing extremely advanced hearing aid that covered his whole ears. Truth be told, it was actually an ear set that allowed Foaly to communicate with Holly, monitor her vitals, and see what Holly was seeing. It was a bulky replacement to the iris cam, but as Foaly had pointed out, the idea of the mechanical device was to cover Holly's ears.  
  
Sister Carmen slipped on glasses and examined the medical papers closely. "I see that you will not be participating in some of the physical programs we have," said the nun.  
  
Alexei nodded once more, "These hearing aids are really sensitive and very expensive. I'd rather not risk them in any way. The doctor approved."  
  
"That's fine," commented the nun. "And the enrollment papers and the check for the first semester?"  
  
The boy passed a large sheaf of papers to the nun as well as a small envelope charging the ten thousand euros to his bank account. The nun took another several minutes to examine the files. Finally satisfied, she entered the necessary data and tucked away the papers inside a folder.  
  
"Well, young Mr. Forster," said Sister Carmen. She smiled thinly, "Everything seems to be in order. Welcome to St. Bartleby's Institute for Young Gentlefolk."  
  
"Thank you, Sister," nodded Alexei. "But isn't it School for Young Gentlemen?"  
  
The nun nodded while stamping the seal on the envelope. "Originally, yes, but since the school was made coed two years past, we decided that it was high time to change the title," she answered. Alexei's jaw dropped to the floor and his hazel eyes popped wide open. Incredulity and indignation burst inside him quickly followed by anger as his thoughts centered on throttling one centaur's neck. The nun noticed his expression and said assuredly, "Oh, it was a good decision that we let females enter. They're all very well behaved, and they've helped advance St. Bartleby's. They won't be a bother at all. In fact, I'm quite certain that you'll be very good friends with them."  
  
The hazel-eyed boy nodded dumbly, his heart beating quite fast. From over the ear set, his ears burned and, he could almost imagine Foaly's great shout of laughter. They had agreed not to do transmissions on the first try in case there might be disruptions, but he was allowed to hear. No doubt he was having an uproar over his own blunder.  
  
"Mr. Forster, you didn't specify your levels," said the nun. "It's too late now, and we couldn't access your school records. You say that you moved around very much?"  
  
"Y-yes." said Alexei, "I moved around with my father and as a diplomat, he didn't stay in one place for too long. Germany, Spain, China. my records are scattered all over the globe."  
  
"Very well," frowned Sister Carmen, "We shall have to determine your levels ourselves. Now, we have prepared a dormitory for you. As you may know, the dormitory is a large living area. You will have a roommate. His name is." The nun looked up something from her computer and said, "Aidan Smith. He's a good young man. You will find him most helpful. If you need any help or have any questions, just ask him. Your room is on the seventh floor of the Monastery and the number is. 645. Here is the key. Tomorrow is Friday, so it's no use putting you in classes now. Breakfast is in the first floor main dining room at 7:30 AM. If you need it any earlier, just send a request down to the kitchens. Lunch is at the same place 12:30 and dinner is at 6. The cafeteria is open from eight in the morning to nine in the evening. School class schedules are variable. It all depends on which classes you take. The earliest class is at four in the morning and the latest class ends at twelve." There was a faint note of pride in her voice, "Our institution is known for running one of the finest educational standards and curriculum. Our system competes with various colleges and universities. Report to the main hall at 7:30 AM and proceed to room 112 in the first floor here. You shall take a few tests to determine your classes. You ought to be done by lunch and you can have a free day. Now, I expect you to use your time well and rest wisely, Master Forster. Your uniform is already waiting for you in your bedroom. I trust you don't need anything?"  
  
"No, Sister," confirmed Alexei. Sister Carmen passed him a small pamphlet and a key.  
  
"This is a small map and an explanation of the various workings of the institution. This should help clear up any problems," said the Sister. "I'll escort you out to your driver. There is a bellhop in the Monastery, but he is already asleep, I'm afraid. You'll have to make do with your driver."  
  
"Will do, Sister Carmen," affirmed the red haired boy. He took the pamphlet and key, slipped it in the breast pocket of his blazer, and shook hands with nun. Sister Carmen led him out cathedral and stopped outside the doors of the cathedral.  
  
"Good night, Mr. Forster. I'll be seeing you early in the morning," she said.  
  
"One last thing, ma'am," said Alexei, "Out of curiosity, what's the name of the man who opened the front gates?"  
  
"Oh, that's one of the various menservants we have around the institution. I'm not sure which one he was," frowned Sister Carmen.  
  
"He was very tall, had gray hair."  
  
"I can't seem to recall," dismissed the nun. "Now go off to bed, young sir."  
  
Alexei frowned, dissatisfied with the nun's questioning. He could not be too certain if the nun truly did not remember or if she was evading the question. "Thank you, Sister Carmen. Good night." The boy descended the steps and slipped inside the waiting limousine.  
  
The driver sighed in relief when his charge returned. He had been getting more and more frightened by the eerie appearance of the cathedral. His encounter with the gateman had evidently set him off. In addition, the stone gargoyles were not helping.  
  
"Take me to the monastery," instructed Alexei. "I'm afraid I'll also have to ask for your assistance in moving my luggage once more. I'll put it in my payment."  
  
The driver looked terrified at the prospect of staying in this strange estate more than absolutely necessary, but he couldn't find it in himself to refuse the boy. Mr. Alexei Forster had been alone when he had picked him up, and despite the tough and proud exterior, he also looked strangely fragile and young.  
  
"Don't worry," said Alexei, smiling for the first time in the darkness of the limousine. His voice had lightened somewhat, and it was softer as well, "I'll make it well worth your time. Just go straight out the way we came back in. I'm sure you won't have to go through the gateman again."  
  
The driver nodded worriedly. By this time, they were approaching the concave roofed monastery. In contrast to the cathedral, the structure was very simple. It hunched over the land, containing hundreds of rooms. The windows here were simple and well planed. No stained glass like the cathedral. The limousine crunched to a stop in front of the monastery. The building was level with the ground and double doors guarded the entry within.  
  
The driver stepped outside, and Alexei followed before the man could even open the door for him. The driver shrugged and opened the trunk. For a young gentleman going to boarding school, Alexei had packed very lightly. He only had two suitcases and they were not very heavy. The driver didn't mind carrying them himself. Alexei led the way inside.  
  
The front lobby of the monastery was lit by electric torchlights. Light enough to see your way, but dim enough not to be able to discern detail. A security guard was sitting in the front desk, scrutinizing the two who had entered. Alexei waved the key and the guard nodded.  
  
"Elevators are to your right," said the guard helpfully.  
  
"Thanks," said Alexei smoothly and he strode past the guard and stepped into a waiting elevator. The monastery dated somewhere around the seventeenth century. That much was made obvious by the design and the little decoration around the place. However, the electronic embellishments contrasted with the old world façade. Holly couldn't believe the taste Mud Men had for the schooling they sent their young to.  
  
The boy and the driver stepped out of the elevators and went down various corridors. Once or twice they had gotten lost and had to retrace their steps back to the elevators. The hallways all looked identical to one another. The same drab gray walls, the same old style wooden doors, and the scrubbed wooden floors flowed throughout the whole structure unbroken except for the occasional rug standing underneath a lone, small desk.  
  
Finally they made it to room 645. Alexei opened the door and stepped inside. The room was dark, but the moonlight streamed inside the windows. This room was facing the side of the estate where all you could see was more countryside. The interior was well furnished. Against the windows were a small TV and VCR. Two circular couches faced the sparse entertainment system. To the right of the entrance were a small kitchenette and a little table where snacks and meals could be eaten if one wanted privacy. To the left of the entrance was a door labeled bathroom. Holly inwardly shuddered at the grime she'd have to submerge herself in before this mission was over. The door beyond the bathroom was presumably hers as it was the only one open.  
  
"Just leave my stuff inside that room. Thank you," said Alexei. As soon as the driver was done, he returned to the door leading out to the hallway where Alexei was waiting. Alexei handed the man five hundred euro bills. The driver mumbled his thanks. "Really, I appreciate the help," repeated the boy. "Make sure that you go straight back to the car, and go all the way back out to the gate. Don't stop for anyone. Don't mind the gateman. Just go straight through and go home."  
  
The man nodded, looking terrified at the tone the rich boy employed and the gravity in his expression.  
  
Alexei smiled faintly, a striking change, and for the second time since the driver had seen the boy, he noticed the strange, earthen beauty the boy possessed. It was not at all like the current rage at the time. The fashionable beauty was the striking pale complexion, blonde hair, and cherry sweet lips. No, Master Alexei was all earthen colors, but for all that, he possessed an air of strange exoticness about him that merely accentuated his pulchritude. "Don't worry. There are no such things as monsters although that's what the nuns would have us think. The thing you have to worry about this place are the gatemen, it seems." The driver laughed weakly and bid the boy goodbye. He quickly departed.  
  
The elf doubted that anything would actually happen to the driver, but she felt responsible for him nonetheless. She silently and discreetly followed the driver to the elevator just in case. She watched the progress of the elevator on the meter and when it reached the first floor, she hurried to a hallway that faced inside the property. There was a window at the end, as well as a small table underneath holding a lone flower, wilting, inside a vase. From the window, she watched the progression of the limousine. It rolled smoothly, undeterred, except for the short ten seconds where it paused in the front gate. Thankfully, the gate opened almost immediately. The car zoomed away as fast as it dared. The driver seemed all right.  
  
The elf sighed, exhaustion setting in her features. A lot of things had happened in a short amount of time. She had not faced such excitement since two years ago when. The red haired fairy shook her head and gazed at the lonely flower. The daisy was in a vase full of water, yet it was wilting. She touched it with one finger, and called to her magic. It remained unresponsive. Holly felt the frustration building inside her as she watched the daisy's petals fall.  
  
She bit her lip and walked away. No use trying to call a near dead plant back to life now. She had a few things to unpack and tomorrow she needed to start early. In addition, she had a centaur to yell at. 


	9. Unpleasant Surprises

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are the works of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
  
Scene Two: Unpleasant Surprises  
  
The next day, Holly woke with a start. She was spread eagled on a comfortable bed with the sheets twisted all the way over her head. Her bleary eyes struggled to adjust to the hot, bright light spilling through her window. Someone was knocking on her door softly, but insistently. For one dizzying moment, she didn't know where she was and thought Mercury was knocking in her door. Then she regained her scattered wits and called aloud, "Who is it?"  
  
The answer was said in a low, quiet voice, "It's Aidan Smith, your roommate. I just thought you should know that breakfast already started fifteen minutes ago. The bell will ring soon so you had better get dressed."  
  
"O-of course! Thanks!" yelled Holly back, hurriedly getting out of bed. She had overslept, curse it all. She had been planning on waking up early in order to snoop around the monastery, but the drastic time shift had hit the elf extremely hard. Her sleeping habits were now flipped. Fairies were nocturnal creatures. They were alive at night and slept during the day.  
  
Fighting the yawn from tearing its way out of her mouth and blinking the sleep from her eyes, Holly struggled out of her sheets and ran around the room, grabbing the various utensils she'd need and the school uniform. She would take a bath, even if it meant no breakfast. Last night she had experimented with the shower and toilet, and had not been at all pleased. It was dirty, according to fairy standards, and she had no pleasure in washing herself in it or getting used to doing other things in it. However, if she were to complete the human undercover disguise, then she had better get used to doing such things. Thankfully, her roommate had seemed clean. He was messy, yes, but he was also clean.  
  
Holly burst out of her room and promptly collided with her roommate. He was still standing in front of her door when she had run out. Her head smacked against his chest and all the things she had been collecting exploded out of her hands. However, she had not. The boy had quickly recovered from the surprise and had braced Holly's arms. Thanks to his quick instincts neither of them fell down, although at Holly's speed, they should have.  
  
The elf stilled when she felt the human hands touching her arms, and she felt the full brunt of embarrassment coloring her olive complexion. Slowly, she angled her head upwards and looked at her roommate. Her first impression was that he was tall. Even with her new height, she had to crane her head back to get a clear view of his face. Then other things came to mind. He had dark brown hair and smoky gray eyes. He was a handsome boy with aristocratic features. But what surprised Holly more than anything were his elfin features. The more she looked at him, the more she was certain. This boy looked strangely like a fairy although he was undeniably a human.  
  
The boy also seemed to be scrutinizing her closely with those gray eyes. He seemed every bit as surprised at her appearance as she was of his.  
  
The first thing that popped out of Holly's mouth was, "Uhh." That snapped the staring contest, and Holly jumped away from him in a flash. Aidan coughed and smoothed his uniform. He was already dressed in his St. Bartleby's uniform. "S-sorry about that," muttered Holly one hand automatically going to check that her ears were safely hidden behind the earpieces and afterwards both arms crossed over her chest. Thank the gods Foaly had provided her with an extremely large and baggy pajama set. "I-I wanted to go take a shower."  
  
"Yes. hurry up," said the brown haired boy. He checked his watch, "You now have only ten minutes. I just wanted to know if you needed anything before I left."  
  
"Uh, no, no." answered Holly, fighting to keep the rising red from her features. Of all places to have a klutz attack.!  
  
"All right. I'll be going now," said Aidan, acting as though nothing had happened. He turned away and left. The minute he closed the door, Holly began collecting all of her things again as rapidly as she could and jumped in the shower. A bare five minutes later, she had stumbled out of the shower and was sorting through her uniform. What had Foaly said, something about this hole going on one arm or something or other. Three harassing minutes later, she had most of her uniform on, groaned, and remembered the bandages. She stripped off the polo shirt once more, wrapped most of her upper body with bandages, and redid the polo shirt. The minute she had finished buttoning the last button, the bell rang.  
  
With a "D'Arvit!" she struggled with her socks and was already running out of the door holding both shoes. Ten seconds later, she came back to her room to grab the pamphlet, the room key, locked the door to her room, and ran out. She had still to put on her shoes. Holly dropped both loafers down, slipped them on while locking the door to the room she shared with Aidan, and raced down the hallway.  
  
In her mad dash, she noticed a few things. The monastery did not look so foreboding as it had in the dark. In fact, it looked a little like an exotic hotel now. Sunlight spilled cheerfully from wherever it could find an opening to get into. There were a few portraits of a few saints that decorated the hallway and the occasional plant standing in the corner. Her loafers made a tap tap sound on floor as she ignored the elevators and headed directly for the stairway she had spied the night before. She practically flew down the stairs and raced out of the lobby. She was in such a rush that she ran over a tall, slender, black haired youth carrying a laptop in one hand and only spared a moment to call back, "Sorry!" without even looking back.  
  
Despite all his efforts, Alexei reached the desired room two minutes after the late bell had rung. He had entered breathlessly into a small room where a short, plump nun wearing large, square glasses was waiting impatiently. Like Sister Carmen, this nun's face was dour, weathered, and brown. Her main defining feature, however, was her glasses. It blew up her eyes and made them seem much larger than usual. Alexei absorbed her appearance in several blinks. "Late for your first appointment in St. Bartleby's," said the Sister. "Unimpressive, young man."  
  
"Slept late," wheezed Alexei, "Came at around 1AM last night."  
  
"No excuses," reproved the stern nun, "You should have set up your alarm clock. Now sit down. You have quite a few tests to do. And being late as you are, I daresay you didn't bring any pencils either." The nun sighed. "Very well. Calm yourself. Good thing you don't need them. You shall be taking your tests on a computer terminal." She pointed to computer sitting quite obviously on a desk in front of the indicated chair Alexei was supposed to sit in.  
  
Alexei thought to point out that he had set up his alarm clock but slept right through it due to jet lag. He shook his head, gave up on the idea (the nun didn't look like she was in the mood for it), and merely collapsed on to the wooden chair. Truth be told, he was feeling a slight pain in his chest. He frowned, dismissing it.  
  
The nun frowned at him, "I said sit down, not fall down. Your actions certainly need correcting. We should sign you up for that class as well." Holly thought fleetingly that the nun reminded her of Commander Root when Holly had been the newly instated junior captain of Reconnaissance. "Go to start, programs, then Testing Levels. Click on the first icon. You have one hour to complete this test, Mr. Forster. This is the test that determines your history level," said the nun. She glanced at the wall clock. "Since you have come late, I shall just deduct that time from your history test. It is now 8:15. You will finish at 9:00, no exceptions. Begin."  
  
The red head glanced blankly at the screen. The strange characters marched across the colored background. She bit her lip and waited a few moments. Her gift of tongues swiftly settled in and comprehension dawned in her eyes. The first question was: "What was the major cause of Irish immigration to the Americas during the 1800's?" The elf rolled her eyes. She guessed on quite a few and got most correct. Her training in the LEP reconnaissance had included familiarity with Mud Men culture, but their history had not been gone into detail. Besides, her years at the academy seemed like so long ago. The other tests passed by in the same manner with the exception for science and math. The problems were extremely simple and so she had flown through those with considerable speed. Nonetheless, she had a sneaking suspicion that some of the questions and answers were only hypothetical speaking. She shook her head. Mud Men. In any case, she only meant to pas as a student; she had no intention of being valedictorian.  
  
The computer automatically tallied her scores, but it was presented to the nun who was monitoring the computer opposite Holly. As the testing session progressed, Alexei assumed that she was doing worse and worse due to the sour expression on the nun's face. It looked as if she were being force-fed a lemon.  
  
Although the cathedral was on central heating, it was getting unbearably hot inside the room. The boy was extremely tempted to take off his blazer but that might make the bandages he was wearing too apparent. He swallowed and forged on doggedly. The boring repetitiousness of the Mud Man testing was making the fairy extremely sleepy, and the hunger curling in his stomach was not helping. At sweet, long last Alexei finished the last question.  
  
Alexei's eyes were burning from staring at the screen too long, and the bare six hours of sleep was taking its toll. He stood up and stretched, quite prepared to leave the place.  
  
"Where do you think you're going, Mr. Forster?" asked the nun.  
  
Alexei blinked at her. "Excuse me?" he asked.  
  
"I have not finished with you yet," said the nun, looking fixedly at the screen through spectacled eyes. Tiny numbers were running past the screen. She was calculating the average of her test scores. Alexei shrugged, and sat back down.  
  
"I don't believe I caught your name, Sister.?" asked the red head.  
  
"Sister Melanie," said the nun without even looking up.  
  
"Ah."  
  
She took off her glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief. Without her glasses blowing up her eyes to balloon proportions, she resembled a potato. "I want you to do something, Mr. Forster," she said. She appraised him critically. "I want you to go to the library and pull out this one book called Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I want a book report on Scarlet Letter. Also, I want you to write an essay from this question: 'How has the creation of political platforms affected current governments worldwide?' Your schedule should be sent to your room by Sunday. Instructions for both assignments will be contained within."  
  
Alexei looked indignant. "Is this part of the requirements?" he asked. He couldn't believe had done so badly that he was being assigned extra work to compensate.  
  
"Yes," answered Sister Melanie shortly, "It is. Now run along to the library now. The pamphlet Sister Carmen gave you should have a temporary ID card. You can just give your name to the librarian when you're checking out Scarlet Letter. Have a nice lunch."  
  
The boy fought the urge to let out a grunt of frustration. Really, what was her problem? He stood up and walked out the door a little harder than necessary.  
  
Holly checked her wrist COM cleverly disguised as a Mud Man watch. It was now 12: 15. The elf consulted her map. The library was a separate structure in itself located about a mile away from the cathedral. She thought she glimpsed it the night before as a small building with pillars supporting the front.  
  
Holly grumbled to herself, her temper getting worse and worse. The hunger coiling inside her stomach was forcing its way into her attention despite everything. She grunted and decided to walk the avenue to the library. It would be shorter if she walked to the library and returned to the monastery cafeteria.  
  
As the elf walked, her bad mood began to dwindle into the background. It had been a very long time since she had been out in the sun. Although fairies did not stand out in the sun for long periods of time, she still loved it. She loved the natural light and she loved the beauty the sun revealed in the Earth. Not working your magic under the sun was a small price to pay for the sensation it gave. Fortunately for her, elves were not as sensitive to the sunlight as dwarfs. In the fairy spectrum, elves were second to sprites in sun resistance. The wind whistled cheerfully in the pedestrian avenue and tapped her face well humouredly. Birds twittered and skittered amongst the plant life. In the distance, Holly spied the equestrian center. A beautiful black horse, Arabian she guessed, was cantering proudly in the partitioned field.  
  
A soft smile graced her features as she walked gaily in the daylight. It had been so long since she had been out under daylight, and even longer since she had been out in daylight for the pleasure of it. A small bird swooped and landed on her shoulders, chitterling softly. Holly laughed and held out her finger for the bird to perch on. She looked around to make sure that no one was watching her or near enough to tell before speaking to the bird in its own language.  
  
"How are you, little one?" she asked (obviously in translation to English). The bird hummed and twittered bits of a song. Apparently the bird was in a cheerful mood for it answered in bits of song that it learned from its fellow birds. The animal twittered, danced on Holly's fingers for a minute, before flying away with a small farewell. The elf smiled ruefully. That was the way it was with animals. Cheerful creatures, but nothing much of what they said made any sense.  
  
In a better mood, she walked to the library. Just like the cathedral and the monastery, the library was a large, stone structure. Unlike either building, this building's style was not religious in design. In contrast, the Grecian fashion and sweeping pillars created an aesthetic yet classical atmosphere signifying years and years' worth of learning and professionalism.  
  
Alexei easily strode up the steps and walked through the wooden doors. Inside, sunlight streamed in translucent rays. Whispers floated through the space like ghosts but save that, all was silent. The door opened to a large hallway. The marble floor was well polished and well kempt. A small line of students was checking books out in the librarian's desk to the right of the entrance. Two nuns in their habits were using up to date technology to check the books out. Further down the small hallway was a circular, wide, large space where various couches, chairs, and desks were scattered over the area. In one end was a six feet fireplace complete with a large mantel, the portrait of a dark sea above it, and the metal grating. Near it were metal pokers to use with the fire. A few students also inhabited the area, silently reading or doing homework. Light descended to the chairs from the roof. When the red head looked up, he found that several circular skylights pierced the roof to allow natural light in. A clean sheet of glass covered these.  
  
This was apparently the central area wherein all other sections were circled around. Alexei searched for a place to begin her search. Initially, he thought to look at the search computers for the book, but found that they were out of order. All four of them. He paused, unsure of what to do.  
  
A student bumped into him from behind. "Oh, excuse me," said a light soprano, "I'm so clumsy." When Alexei righted himself and turned around, he saw that the student had been a young female, perhaps fifteen years old. She had light brown hair, green eyes, and a sweet, pleasant face. A headband neatly held her shoulder length hair back and she stood as the same height as Holly, about five feet three inches. She said in an amiable voice. "Oh, you must be new here. I haven't seen you around. My name is Sabia Davis." She held out her hand.  
  
Alexei shook it and said, "Pleased to meet you, Miss."  
  
The girl giggled slightly, "Nice accent. You look and sound like a little bit of everything. In any case, no need to be formal. The nuns are at our backs enough about formalities when we're in front of them. Just call me Sabia when there aren't any protocols to follow." Alexei nodded, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Holly was not entirely used to interacting with people as the same large size as she. Sabia cocked her head to the side, green eyes looking inquisitively at him, "Did you need something? You were looking pretty lost just now."  
  
"A-actually, I was looking for a resource computer or something."  
  
"Oh, the computers in the library all short circuited about a week ago. The nuns say that there was a problem with the voltages or something. They'll have them back up and running by Monday. So until then, we have to use the manual resource maps. Did you need your book right now?"  
  
Alexei nodded. It was at that moment that a small crowd of girls called to her. There were about four of them and each was pretty in their own way. They had huddled outside waiting for each other. Now they called to Sabia in soft voices.  
  
Sabia and Alexei turned around at the sound. When Alexei faced them, the girls stilled their voices and gazed for a moment or two at him. Then all four burst out in soft giggles. Inwardly, Holly rolled her eyes, ignoring her discomfort. Lili Frond would be very good friends with these girls.  
  
"Ah, I have to go," said Sabia. "You can easily navigate the library by looking at the labels on the various shelves. But the resource books are over there." The girl gestured to the left. A large shelf housed equally large and thick books. "I'd like to help, but I really must go. See you later!"  
  
Sabia quickly walked back to where her friends were. Alexei didn't even bother looking back. He walked quickly to the resource maps. Sabia seemed all right, but her friends.The boy shook his head and turned his attention to where Sabia indicated the labels.  
  
His first impression of the library had been its age, and further scrutiny into the shelves only confirmed it. The large tomes were covered in thick dust, and Alexei wondered whether the nuns had bothered to update the books at all. He clucked his tongue, his temper silently flaring again at the way Sister Melanie had so casually assigned him more work.  
  
The red head ran a hand through the dusty shelves, eyeing the labels. He found a promising one near the end of the row in a shelf about the height of his head. The boy reached upwards to pull out a large book labeled (Fiction Authors: G-H). He glanced at the space the book made, noting that whoever was in the next row had also taken out the opposite book to Alexei's.  
  
Holly's heart plummeted right then and there. Wide eyes slowly looked back through the gap the book made. In the opposite row was a boy, bending down to examine a book held down. The boy was tall, around 5'6, slender, and elegant. Raven night hair fell in a smooth style down his forehead and his flawless complexion was ivory pale. Cold, terribly cold, deep blue eyes gazed mildly down at what the elf presumed was a page. She recognized that face. He was the boy she had run into earlier this morning in her haste to beat the bell.  
  
But more importantly, he had been the one who kidnapped her four years ago. He was the one who had saved the Lower Elements from the B'WaKell uprising. He was the one she had given that gold coin to in order to remind him of the spark of goodness inside him. He was the one who had asked Holly Short for help when his dearest friend had been mortally injured. He was the one who had been mind wiped because he was too much of a risk to the People. He was the reason why Holly had spent many sleepless days tossing, turning, and squirming.  
  
After thinking and dreaming about what the elf had deemed to be an impossible moment, the fairy had absolutely nothing to say. The book slipped from her nerveless fingers. Unfortunately for Holly, it fell straight on her foot. Unfortunately for Holly, her foot was most definitely not nerveless and felt the large book falling down on it loud and clear.  
  
With a loud cry of, "D'Arvit!" she jumped backwards and into the shelf behind her. Unfortunately for Holly, these old shelves had not been bolted down. So when she had jumped backwards, she had caused it to lose balance, teeter precariously, and fall with a mighty crash to the next shelf. As most people know, knocking down one shelf in the library causes a domino reaction.  
  
Several students ran like mad when they noticed that the shelves were coming down on them. Shouts erupted inside the library. Many more students ran away in fear of falling shelves and books. All the while this happened, Holly sat stunned on the first shelf.  
  
Artemis Fowl II strolled out from behind the first shelf looking only mildly perturbed despite the chaos erupting all over library. His gaze swept over the scene in one long glance before they fell on Holly. The elf flinched at those cold eyes, but met them. For moments, they gazed at one another.  
  
Two impossible figures brought together by impossible circumstance. They were practically ordered never again to meet. It was against the rules, really. Their parting two years ago needed to be the last one. The Council's reasoning behind sending Captain Trouble Kelp to check on Artemis Fowl, the reasoning behind banning Holly from any case relating to Artemis Fowl, was to keep her getting involved. The past years had proven to them that if Holly Short got involved with Artemis Fowl, catastrophe followed like flies on a stink worm.  
  
Yet here they stood again in an impossible meeting. Ah well. Neither Holly Short nor Artemis Fowl had been very averse to breaking a few rules.  
  
The resounding crash of the last shelf breaking over solid wall broke Holly's reverie. Soon if not already, people would be wondering who caused the commotion, and it didn't take a genius to figure out where it all started. So Holly jumped, grabbed Artemis's hand, and ran to hide behind the shelf four rows down. She pushed the tall boy behind the shelf and peeked out. People were looking all right.  
  
Artemis was surprised. No brainer to the shock really. How often did one see a boy knock over a shelf, cause probably over thousands of dollars worth of damage similar to an earthquake, and then get saved by the same aforementioned boy? He looked curiously at the strange boy. He had caught only a glimpse of his face, and his heart had skipped a beat. In addition, there were two strange metal contraptions that covered both ears of the boy.  
  
"Okay, I don't think they're going to look this way just yet," said the boy in a light voice, unusually so for a male. He peered cautiously out and said, "You'll be safe here."  
  
Artemis frowned, his usual iciness now dominating his features, "Hardly, if I'm with you."  
  
The boy muttered something underneath his breath, but didn't turn his face. It sounded like he was saying, "Of all the obnoxious ingrates.!"  
  
Artemis allowed a cold smile to slip on his lips, "I speak only the truth." The raven-haired boy stepped up to look out at the scene as well. The red head moved back to allow him greater coverage.  
  
Two nuns seemed at the point of collapse, totally flabbergasted at the destruction. The other two were helping students who had barely managed to avoid concussions from the flying books and shelves. Most of the student body had gathered around the wreckage. Some looked horrified, some looked wildly excited, and some looked amused while the others wore expressions of varying mixtures of the first three emotions. No doubt Principal Guiney would have a heart attack when he heard about this. Heh.  
  
"You-" began Artemis, but he didn't finish. When he looked back, the boy was no longer there. Strange. He hadn't even caught his face or his name. He was distinctive enough, that much was certain. Those strange contraptions on his ears and ruby red hair stood out exceptionally. For some reason, his thoughts lingered on a fading dream he had several nights before. He dismissed the thoughts and decided to come out and mingle among the other students. No need to make himself look more suspicious. Perhaps he might even get to see that strange boy again.  
  
Holly expertly slid into the shadows, weaving in and out among them. She made her way to the other side without detection, successfully mingled with a concerned group of students, and finally dwindled out of the library in a matter of ten minutes. No doubt the school officials would be thundering up the road at that very moment, but Holly had a better chance of escaping blame if she were outside.  
  
The elf hung out in the shadows of a few Birchwood trees, watching the cars roll in front, and the people within go inside the library. She waited for about five minutes before slipping out and walking as discreetly as she could back to the monastery.  
  
She winced as she walked. There was a pain in her chest, but that feeling was pushed aside to her revelation. Artemis Fowl II was here. He was really here. No wonder she had thought the school uniform was familiar when she first saw it last night. She had seen that very same uniform on Artemis Fowl two years past.  
  
The elf couldn't believe so many important details slipped Foaly's scrutiny. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before tapping on the right earpiece. Delicately, she slipped a finger into the interior of the machine and tapped a button, trying to get a channel to Foaly.  
  
"Holly, I swear I had no idea," began the centaur before Holly even realized that she was online with him.  
  
"Foaly, you insufferable, proud donkey!" fumed the elf. "Do you have any idea the stress I've been through?"  
  
"We were pressed for time," protested the LEP technical fairy. "I didn't have time to see through it all."  
  
"How could you miss something as big as the school being coed?!" screamed the hazel-eyed elf.  
  
The centaur couldn't help but snicker at that. "Look, they obviously hadn't updated their Net files in two years. I didn't see until it was too late," he said. "Besides, didn't you always want to be a male?"  
  
The elf gritted her teeth, "I swear, centaur, when I get my hands on you. And Artemis Fowl! Artemis Fowl! How could you miss someone like Artemis Fowl! I thought you had a surveillance network around him! What happened to Kelp's monthly field inspections!"  
  
"Look, look," said Foaly, golden eyes glinting with humor, "He goes away from home around six months a year presumably to go to school. We don't have Kelp follow him because in all probability my surveillance on his computer is enough. The Council doesn't want to spend any more gold on Artemis Fowl than they absolutely have to. How was I to know he went here? I wasn't looking through their student roster. I thought Fowl was a genius and skipped school in any case."  
  
"Foaly," said Holly warningly.  
  
"Okay, okay, I made a mistake," grumbled the centaur. He never liked admitting he made mistakes.  
  
"Has Root been watching my video feed?" asked Holly. She looked around once more, uneasy. It wouldn't do to be caught speaking in Gnommish to what appeared to be thin air. The last thing she needed was for people to place her in Special Education.  
  
"No, things are busy underground where we little people are," joked the centaur.  
  
"Any updates on Mercury?" asked Holly.  
  
"Well, he apparently sent a threatening note to the LEP telling us that he meant to kill you and he would kill you," said Foaly, his voice somber for once.  
  
Holly shivered involuntarily. "He's furious." she said.  
  
"Oh yeah. You can tell from the note he sent. Didn't even bother to put it in a code. Just plain out said that he would kill you no matter what," sighed Foaly. "Commander Root has placed HQ on high alert. Just in case. It's the reason why we're so busy not to mention those Deep Tunnel kidnappings we've already had to deal with."  
  
Holly silently agreed. Things were heating up underground. The least thing she could do was to get to the bottom of the mystery around St. Bartleby and get rid of Mercury as fast as she could. "What did you think of the video feed?" asked Holly. "Is this place whacked out or what?"  
  
Foaly snorted, "Captain, that place is a prime candidate for the Twilight Zone. You've got creepy Igor's running around looking like gravediggers, the corrupted religious drama, and you also got yourself a fan club. Ooh, and let's not forget that Master Artemis Fowl is back in the picture, older, most probably smarter, and more of a devil than ever. Aren't you the lucky girl, eh, boy?"  
  
"Foaly."  
  
"Yes, Captain?" asked the centaur in a singsong voice.  
  
"Shut the hell up," said the elf and shut off the communication. She couldn't believe Foaly. His facetiousness was getting way out of hand. However, his candid manner did bring into perspective the various strange factors revolving around St. Bartleby.  
  
There was a suspicious, giant human lurking around as a manservant, the nuns certainly were not nuns else she would feel pain at entering the cathedral, and Artemis Fowl was here. And there was one thing that Foaly did not mention, but Holly felt was part of the puzzle. Her roommate, Aidan Smith: A human boy who looked like a fairy. There was something entirely too suspicious about these fragments. By themselves, they were discreet and almost invisible. But put them all together and there was something sinister here. And at the very bottom of this lay the key to figuring out Mercury. 


	10. I must be in a nightmare, a never ending...

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are the works of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
  
Scene Three: 'I must be in a nightmare, a never ending nightmare'  
  
Monday morning dawned bright and clear. The sunlight doggedly forged its way across the sky, determined to bring some light into the already dismal land. Holly had woken up early just to make sure that she wouldn't be caught in a mad rush again. At seven AM sharp, she was already in the shower, scrubbing furiously. Holly could almost see the germs crawling all over her, and she shuddered. She also made sure that the door to the shower was locked tightly just in case her roommate decided to walk in on her while she wasn't decent. It wouldn't do for him to see Alexei without his earpieces and clothes on.  
  
Her mysterious roommate was absent for the better part of the weekend. As a matter of fact, she only saw him once on Saturday night. Even then she had just caught a glimpse of him closing the door to his room. All she could make of him was that he was quiet and private. Not once in all the time Holly was snooping around the Monastery did Holly see him. If Holly's guesses were correct, the Monastery was where the bulk of the students congregated as it contained the cafeteria and the recreation area.  
  
It took her the better part of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to finish checking the layout of the Monastery. So far so good, nothing seemed suspicious. The fifth to seventh floor were easily walked through. The second to fourth, however, was a different story. These were the girls' section, and boys were strictly not allowed. She had tried sneaking in several times on the pretense that she had gotten lost, but a security guard or a nun always spotted her before she could get far. The elf had tried compensating by looking into the surveillance booth in the first floor. As far as she could see, the girls' floor was pinker than the boys but other than that it looked identical. Still, one could never be sure. She spent the last few hours of Sunday evening quickly reading Scarlet Letter (which she discreetly borrowed from the library that evening; thankfully, her little accident only decimated the manual resource section and nothing else), and a quick essay on the topic. Her schedule arrived, as promised, on Sunday.  
  
The little card told her that she would have six full periods on block schedule. The first three subjects were Advanced Modern History, AP Calculus, and English Literature. Her next three subjects were AP Physics, Protocol and Etiquette, and lastly, Physical Education. Holly frowned, unfamiliar with the Protocol and Etiquette class. Ah well. Her essay was to be turned in Advanced Modern History and the book report on Scarlet Letter was to be turned in English Lit. In addition, the schedule was sent down along with a package. When opened, Holly discovered that it was a standard book bag issued by St. Bartleby's. It contained three notebooks, an agenda, a bible, two pens, two mechanical pencils, two erasers, and two small containers for lead for the pencils. Holly was not prepared to be confronted with such archaic methods of writing. Still, the elf decided to keep the entire bag and bring it along with her.  
  
She would have tried hacking into the computers already if it hadn't been for the fact that almost all library terminals were down. She had discovered that the library contained a large computer laboratory issued for student use. However, they were all down. The staff used the only other available terminals. The other classrooms that had computers were locked up during the weekend. In addition, in order for her own wrist computer to work, she needed to hook up to the actual computers on the school. She would have asked Foaly as well but the centaur was busy providing technical back up to numerous operations underground. Apparently, the crime waves were intensifying.  
  
All in all, her investigations were not easy. She needed to write a report to Foaly each night, but due to the sheer size of the estate, one days' worth of work could be just half a building's report. In addition, she'd been extremely jumpy due to the fact that any second she might run into Artemis Fowl. Admittedly, there was an extremely remote possibility that he could be behind all this, but she somehow doubted it. Ironic that there had once been a time when she would have blamed him for every problem the People had from goblins to the traffic. Even if he was, there was no way of investigating him with any ease. One slip and she might just trigger Total Recall. She might as well have shot herself with a Neutrino if she was responsible for the return of the People's most feared enemy. That is, provided he already hadn't received Total Recall. He didn't seem to recognize her during the brief time they saw one another. But then again, even Root probably wouldn't have recognized her if he hadn't been watching the video feeds.  
  
By this time, Holly had just finished buttoning up her blazer and was attaching the earpieces to her ears. She took one last look at her reflection in the area. Hazel eyes gazed pertly back at her from the mirror. She looked as human as an unusual human could be. Then she walked out the door. Aidan was waiting outside wearing only an oversized green t- short and boxers. He bid Holly a quiet good morning and went into the bathroom. His gray eyes were cast down and never once did he look at Holly in all that time. In contrast, Holly's gaze was lingering curiously over him. Aidan's chocolate hair was rumpled from sleep, and he looked bleary in the morning. Hazel eyes scrutinized his face. Yes. there was something in that face that did not belong to humans.  
  
"Hey, Aidan." said "Alexei" hesitantly.  
  
The taller boy glanced once his direction before saying, "Yeah?"  
  
"Could.. Could you show me my classes for the day?"  
  
"Mmm," said Aidan before quickly shutting the door inside the bathroom.  
  
Holly blinked in his wake, unsure if that was a yes or a no. She decided that it was a polite way of blowing her off. Still.her eyes turned towards Aidan's open room. As a rule, she could not enter his room without permission. However, she could take a peek. Making sure that Aidan was still in the shower, she quickly crossed to the other side and looked in. Identical to hers, the room was long rather than wide. The window at the one end had the bed pushed up against it. There was a small desk at the head of the bed to provide as a bed stand and a lamp jutting from the wall. At the foot of the bed was a small chest as a container for various indeterminate properties Aidan had. In middle of the room, pushed against the wall, was a small, complete study desk. On the opposite end of the bed was a closet and a small bookshelf for Aidan's schoolbooks. The room was plain and bare of any personal effects that would have told Holly anything about its occupant.  
  
She shrank back as soon as she heard the shower close. There was nothing incriminating there although she really hadn't expected such an easy break. She grabbed her book bag that was sitting at the couch. A glance at her wrist computer told her that breakfast started ten minutes ago. She had better get there ahead of the throng if she didn't want to be late.  
  
Holly chose a secluded table in the corner of the cafeteria and put her tray and bag on it. Her tray consisted of a simple dish: just fresh salad and a bottle of Irish spring water. She glanced around her surreptitiously. Puffy eyed students who looked half asleep were stumbling around the food area carrying their trays or buying them. A few others looked fresh and easy, talking with their friends. Her glance landed on a table where guys seemed to circulate. Sabia, her group of friends, and a few other girls along with them that Holly did not recognize, looking picture perfect, were eating their breakfast of pancakes and orange juice. One of them spotted Holly's gaze and winked seductively. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, the elf decided not to keep her eyes for too long on any girl. Really, what was it with these Mud Girls???  
  
The back of her neck prickled. Holly stiffened immediately. She knew that feeling. Intuition was telling her that someone was watching her. She took a bite of her salad cautiously and let her eyes take a quick sweep of the room. She couldn't pick anyone out to be paying attention to a lone student. By this time, many students were already clogging up the lines and fighting for tables. Her salad was quickly devoured, but she could not get rid of the feeling that someone was watching her. She looked around the room once more, letting her eyes freely scope the place out. She still couldn't see anyone. Her heart was beginning to pound. Who was looking at her?  
  
Once again, her eyes fell on Sabia who was talking to an older boy. No doubt one of her admirers. The boy was tall, as tall as Aidan and Artemis, and he had light blonde hair spiked up in a style Holly recognized as popular among the males of the Mud race. He was at the back of Sabia's chair, leaning over her and listening to something she said. He looked friendly, open, and kind. He nodded once to Sabia who had gestured to Alexei. Holly frowned. Were they the ones looking at him?  
  
Finally, the boy straightened up and his eyes fixed themselves on Alexei. At full height, Holly realized that he was a few inches taller than either her roommate or Artemis. He approached her table, and Holly monitored his approach while she drank deeply from her water bottle.  
  
"Hey," greeted the boy once he reached her table. From up closer, his smile was quite friendly and warm. He had the same green eyes as Sabia as well as the sweetness in nature. However, there was pride and authority in his voice that differentiated him from the girl. Holly realized that he must be her brother. "Sabia told me that you're new here. My name is Ryan Davis, Sabia's big brother. She said you might need some help getting around the school."  
  
"Oh," said Alexei. Some of the tension deflated out of him. "Um, yeah, I guess."  
  
"All right," chuckled Ryan. "It would help if I knew your name and grade first."  
  
"H- Alexei Forster," said Alexei, offering a hand. Ryan shook it cordially. "I'm in the third year."  
  
"Same grade then, that makes it easier," nodded Ryan. He took a seat opposite Alexei. "What do you have?"  
  
"I have a block schedule. Three subjects today: Advanced Modern History, AP Calculus, and English lit. They're on rooms." the boy rattled off a series of numbers.  
  
"Wow," whistled Ryan appreciatively. "Those are some pretty intense subjects. You must be pretty smart."  
  
Alexei shrugged. Truth be told, he had been a little surprised himself when he saw the classes.  
  
"Let's see." frowned Ryan, green eyes gazing at the schedule card Alexei had brought out. "History should be in the fourth floor with Father Patrick. The rooms around the Cathedral, you'll notice, all circle the main hall. Odd numbered rooms face the interior. Even numbered rooms face the exterior. Even with that, it could still get pretty confusing. There are about two side stairs located in the Cathedral and one grand stair that most students use. I wouldn't recommend the grand stair because there's a lot of traffic there once the bell rings. As a matter of fact, I don't even recommend leaving the Monastery at the bell. You obviously won't make it unless you hijack those maintenance golf carts." Ryan told her quite a lot of details that Alexei would obviously need, but that prickling feeling was back again. Holly could not concentrate when hair on the back of her head stood on end. So, it was really with no surprise that when a hand touched her shoulder she quickly dodged to the side, arms raised up in a defensive position. Her table and chair had been knocked askew and it was safe to say Ryan was shocked when the last of Holly's salad landed on his lap.  
  
Aidan stepped back, astonishment flashing in his eyes as well. He was already in his St. Bartleby's uniform. His book bag, with the help of a shoulder strap, hung neatly from his shoulder. He had tapped Alexei on the shoulder to get his attention and was greeted by the sight of the new students in some sort of fighting position. Alexei's eyes widened at the sight of Aidan, and he immediately dropped his arms. Blushing uncomfortably, the boy straightened up, muttering, "Sorry. I was just antsy." He coughed, "I didn't hear you come up behind me. my hearing aid must be on the blink or something." Up 'till now, Holly had cursed her situation. Of all things to go undercover as, it had to be a Mud Boy. They weren't even clean for heaven's sakes. But this really took the cake. Not only did he have to play a Mud Boy, but also he had to play one who seemed like he was senile.  
  
"Oh," said Ryan, blinking in comprehension. His eyes had lingered curiously on the metal earpieces, but he had been too polite to ask. He gently used a stray tissue to brush the salad off his lap. Thankfully, Alexei had put no dressing in his dish. "If there was a problem, you should have told me. us." His gaze was now directed at Aidan who had the grace to look slightly abashed.  
  
"Sorry," offered the brown haired boy, "but the bell is going to ring in about ten minutes so we had better go. if you wanted to get to the classes."  
  
"Oh," said Alexei, fighting the urge to squirm even more uncomfortably. "Yeah, I was just about to dump my salad." He spotted Ryan look up from cleaning the vegetables of his uniform. "In the trashcan," finished the hazel-eyed boy. He coughed loudly and was suddenly aware that hundreds of eyes around the cafeteria were staring with intense curiosity at the three of them. Even the lunch ladies behind the lines had stopped their work and were gazing at them. Alexei cleared his throat loudly once more, asking clearly, "What?" The brazen voice suddenly activated the business in the cafeteria once more. Under his breath, Alexei muttered, "Voyeurs."  
  
The surprise in Ryan and Aidan did not diminish with Alexei's bravado.  
  
"You sure you don't need any help with that salad?" asked Alexei, turning to Ryan.  
  
"Oh, no, no, no," objected Ryan. "I just had to brush the salad off. Anyway, we had all better be going to class. You go with Aidan. I have to meet up with a friend of mine first. That is, if it's all right with Aidan."  
  
Aidan said, "Only if Alexei wants." His gray eyes focused in on Alexei's own eyes for once, and Alexei was surprised at the intensity of his eyes. Alexei had only seen his eyes once before, during that fateful meeting on Friday. Back then, they had been plain gray, but now, with such intensity roiling in them, they seemed like a foggy ocean covering up a storm.  
  
"Yeah, no problem," said Alexei clearly, gazing directly back at him, "I did ask you first, didn't I?" He stood up and told Ryan, "Sorry for the inconvenience. I'll make it up to you. Promise."  
  
Ryan waved it off with a laugh, "I'm just glad you weren't eating eggs."  
  
Alexei had to smile. It seemed that Ryan possessed the same sweetness in disposition his sister had. "Come on, Aidan," urged Alexei, taking his tray, what was left of it, and his bag. Together, the two made their way across the cafeteria. Although no one was doing it openly, most of the students were staring at their progress across.  
  
It was better as soon they were out of the Monastery. The fresh morning air was cool and crisp. Several students who looked more awake were walking cheerfully to the Cathedral.  
  
Aidan lead the way, quiet once more. Alexei eyed him discreetly from the corner of her eyes.  
  
Aidan asked without even looking, "What?"  
  
Alexei blinked, but not in surprise. The subtle strangeness surrounding the boy merely grew and grew. "Nothing," said Alexei. "I just.thought you had some pretty quick reflexes there. I mean, not too many people have been able to sneak up on me, and that Friday morning when I accidentally tackled you. Thanks for saving me then by the way."  
  
The brown haired boy shrugged, perhaps in ignorance of the merit of his own skills. And while he may not have realized the weight of Alexei's words, Alexei sure did. No one had ever managed to sneak up on Holly Short with the exception of two people: Artemis Fowl and his manservant Butler.  
  
At this time, they were clambering inside the Cathedral. Many students were congregating within. The Cathedral was an impressive sight by day. Majestic and daunting with its flying buttresses, various stained glass, assortment of carvings, and a collection of statues, it looked as if it were a relic left behind from the Dark Ages. Alexei took the whole sweep of the Cathedral as much as he could. There were so many surfaces to be investigated in the Cathedral. Doubtless she'd need blueprints from Foaly.  
  
Sunlight streamed inside the main hall. Again, Alexei took the whole area in one long and large sweep. Here, the greatness of size was in height. Rafters soared several hundred feet in the air. Chandeliers suspended from fifty feet of iron chains hung in the space the rafters carved out. Statues were crammed into every available niche and corner to serve as mini shrines. Paintings of saints dominated the lower left wall. The right wall was filled with portraits of angels. On the higher walls, giant stained glass windows allowed beautiful colored lights to illuminate the area. Exotic cobalt blues, rose reds, golden yellows, and ultraviolets bathed the entire room and its occupants in mysterious ways. It was very beautiful, very impressive, and also very arresting. Alexei could well believe where all the high tuition fees went to after seeing such a grand display of opulence within the Mud men religion.  
  
"You should see it in the afternoon," smiled Aidan faintly. "The sunlight strikes the stained glass better. At night, when there's a mass and all the candles are aglow, sometimes you feel like you must be in the sky." Alexei glanced at Aidan who was looking up. There was an expression of pure appreciation in his face. This was one of the first few times that Alexei glimpsed more than just stoicism and nothingness radiating off Aidan.  
  
On another note, he was right. This place was constructed for beauty and majesty. Elves were aesthetic creatures. They had a passion for the arts and beauty. However, there was a subtle something in the place that set Holly on edge, dampening the appreciation she had for its beauty.  
  
There was something of a hold up just within the entrance. A large number of teenagers were stomping their feet on a thick rug that had been deposited near the entrance.  
  
"One of St. Bartleby's emphasis is cleanliness," said Aidan, mechanically brushing off his shoes. Although he no longer talked with lightness in his voice, there was a lingering quality to it that made him seem welcomer and less inscrutable. Alexei decided that he must be an artist to truly appreciate the beauty of the Cathedral. "They want the students to be clean. If there's so much as a smidgen of dust on the main hall, then the entire student body cleans the whole Cathedral up. If not, there's a fine. A very steep one," explained Aidan. Alexei shrank against the crowd, inwardly agreeing with the nuns on the cleanliness issue. It was only a few hours into the morning, and she was already feeling so dirty.  
  
"You sure you don't need help with your hearing aids or something?" asked Aidan. His gray eyes, now calm and light, were fixed on the mechanisms on Alexei's ears. The brown haired boy made move as if to touch it, but Alexei quickly dodged away.  
  
"Eheh, sorry," apologized Alexei, noting Aidan's surprise once more. "Really expensive things, you see. Can't have anyone touch it but professional engineers. One of a kind sort of. Can't risk it."  
  
"I see," frowned Aidan.  
  
Up ahead, the students finished in cleaning their shoes were forming several neat columns and rows. Nuns were at the head of each column. Everything was done neatly and precisely. There was only a faint mutter of conversation in the air. The students in St. Bartleby's were very well trained.  
  
"Every Monday, the entire school assembles in the main hall to do some prayers. One of the administrators then reads out important announcements. We line up alphabetically. Everything's arranged alphabetically, even our seating charts." There was a brief moment in which a few students separated Aidan and Alexei. Aidan called, "Line F is over there." He nodded to a line and walked to his own line.  
  
Alexei swallowed, uncomfortable with such a large number of Mud Men surrounding him. He took a deep breath and walked to the line. It was easy enough to find your place as each student had an ID stating their name, homeroom, and other miscellaneous statistics clipped to their breast pocket. He slid into place behind a longhaired girl and waited. The wrist computer struck precisely 8:05 AM when a balding, gray haired man dressed in a gray three-piece suit walked in front of the students. He placed himself behind a little desk where a microphone was placed. Dead silence descended in the room.  
  
"Good morning, students," said the man. "I hope you had a nice and constructive weekend." His humorless smile made his rather pathetic attempt at humor turn into a sarcastic remark. "Why don't we all start our morning prayers first? Let's have our junior president lead us today." He stepped back and Ryan Davis stepped out from his place in line. Some girls shifted and whispered in words too soft to hear.  
  
Alexei was only mildly surprised. Ryan and Sabia seemed the type, really. But what dominated Alexei's mind the most, however, were the morning prayers. If there were even one devout religious Mud Men in the crowd, he'd be feeling a sting for sure.  
  
Alexei didn't even bother following the words, whatever they were. It felt as if a thousand needles were tickling his arms, legs, and face. Quite a few Mud Men were truly faithful then. Good thing it was not the entire assembly or he'd be stumbling out trying not to projectile vomit. He merely closed his eyes, concentrating on not paying attention to the pain. In fact, he was concentrating so hard not to feel it that he barely noticed the end of the morning prayers. He did notice, however, when the man regained the use of the microphone and said, "Ah, Master Artemis Fowl."  
  
That name was enough to knock any concentration Alexei had. He looked up to the man who was frowning at a young boy. The tall, slender youth was walking confidently into the Cathedral, not the slightest bit disconcerted at having the eyes of the entire congregation focusing on him.  
  
"Late for the first assembly of the month, I see," frowned the man.  
  
"Principal Guiney, surely my presence is not altogether vital to such a significant meeting," shrugged Artemis in a voice clear enough to be heard across the assembly without the aid of a microphone. Although his face and voice were devoid of any emotions, sarcasm clearly marked his sentence. "Not unless you plan on turning this into a public trial for the incident in the library? But I've already proven I wasn't the one did it."  
  
Principal Guiney glowered sternly at the raven-haired boy. "As you probably have no good excuse, I shall spare the student body from hearing fake ones," he reproved. "Just go in line. I'll have one of the nuns write a tardy report and send it home."  
  
"By all means," nodded Artemis absently. His book bag tapped on his hip as he walked in line. Students were still looking at him.  
  
The principal coughed in irritation, "Now everyone. I shall begin the announcements. As everyone knows, there will be a dance in a week." Alexei tuned him out as a startling revelation hit his mind. If students were arranged in alphabetical order and if his own last name was Forster, then that meant.  
  
Please let someone be between us, please let someone be between us, begged Holly inside her mind. Too late. Artemis slid in place behind Alexei. Holly did not even hold out the hope that Artemis would not notice or forget all about him. As the boy had proved so many times in the past, he was anything but stupid. Holly fought the urge to squirm once more even though she felt the hair on the back of her neck prickling. She was sure that Artemis was staring intensely at her back, or rather, the back of her head.  
  
". dismissed. Have a productive day," finished Principal Guiney. The nuns at the head of each section dismissed each row accordingly. Holly dreaded the moment when her line would be free to move. Artemis could talk to her. He probably would, seeing as how he was being blamed for the library incident. With Holly's luck, Artemis would probably blackmail her or something.  
  
The nun leading Line F had barely given the signal to move when the new student bolted. It was an involuntary action really, but it was done nevertheless. Alexei Forster ducked and barreled underneath the mass of students, staying low in the hopes that Artemis would lose her. He zigzagged through the crowd and made it through to the stairway. He looked back once. Even if it meant ditching Aidan, Holly would do anything to avoid Artemis Fowl.  
  
Minutes later, she realized her mistake. Aidan was her only guide to the place, and she hadn't been paying very good attention to what Ryan was saying earlier. Now, neither boys were in sight, and the last students were going inside the classrooms. She wandered around briskly in a few hallways.  
  
She bit her lip, troubled. Although getting to class was not a matter of life and death, it would not do for her to miss it either. She swallowed her pride and stepped inside a classroom to her left. Better to ask a teacher for help. If she was lucky, the teacher might forgive her for being late.  
  
I must be in a nightmare, she thought, a never-ending nightmare. By extraordinary bad luck, she was in the same classroom as, you guessed it, Artemis Fowl II. He was walking to the door holding a blunt pencil in one hand (the mechanical pencil sharpener was located next to the door), when Holly walked in. One look at Fowl and Holly bolted again. But Aidan was just coming in from the hallway. He had spotted Alexei's back from the doorway.  
  
"Alexei, there you are," he called, "I lost you-" he was cut off when Alexei turned around and ran into him once more. But due to the proximity and difference of bulk between them both, Holly merely bounced off him. Unfortunately for Artemis, at that time he had reached the sharpener and was in Alexei's path. Unfortunately for Artemis, he did not possess the quick physical reflexes Aidan had. Unfortunately for Artemis, although he was most definitely taller than Alexei, he did not have the heavier physique. Unfortunately for Artemis, Butler was not there to save him from blows. And so, without further ado, Alexei crashed into Artemis and both of them went down on the floor.  
  
"D'Arvit," whispered Holly, seeing stars explode in front of her eyes. Luckily for Holly, she had landed on something soft. That is, she landed on Artemis. Not so luckily for Artemis, he had landed on the floor and was seeing far worse than stars dancing over his head.  
  
"Would you be so kind as to remove your considerable weight on me," said the raven-haired boy testily, a few moments later, trying to stop the world from spinning. He braced himself on his elbows, grumbling. Holly could feel the grumbling since most of her upper body was right on top of his stomach.  
  
She quickly righted herself, but nearly lost balance once more as her world had yet to stop spinning. However, they did focus on one thing. One of her earpieces was on the floor. But her ear wasn't attached to it. Her ear was still attached to her head and it was bare. 


	11. This is so Victorian'

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are the property of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
  
Scene Four: This is so Victorian.!  
  
Alexei's hand automatically flew up to cover his bare ear. He couldn't help the sharp gasp he emitted nor could he cover the horror that broke over his features. Aidan was staring at Alexei in absolute surprise and Artemis was looking quickly from Alexei to the earpiece and back. The earpiece had landed right next to Artemis, and he moved to pick it up. Alexei reacted more quickly and he snatched it up and put it back on as hurriedly as he could.  
  
Artemis and Aidan were now both staring avidly at Alexei while the rest of the class was staring avidly at the three of them. Amidst this startled silence, Father Patrick walked in the room. Father Patrick was a tall, spare man dressed in the strict habit of a priest complete with the trademark collar. He had a long face and light gray hair with sharp brown eyes framed by metal-rimmed glasses.  
  
"Good morning, good morning, class," he said briskly. "And while I appreciate your silence, I would appreciate being in your seats more." He strode to his handsome mahogany desk and began flipping through the sheaf of papers on it. Without looking up, he said, "Aidan, you know where you're seated I trust. Mr. Fowl, I don't even want to know why you're on the floor. Just get back to your seat. Ah, the new student. Already looking injured on the first day." He finally looked up from his papers. His gaze was keen and it easily seized up Alexei's stricken countenance. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not life threatening."  
  
"Sir, one of those weird metal things fell off the new student's ear," volunteered a golden blond haired boy. The rest of the class murmured in assent.  
  
By now, Alexei's racing heart had begun to calm. The LEP had not been so optimistic to believe that Holly would not be separated from her earpieces. In the event that she lost her earpieces, Foaly had prepared mini hologenerators that simulated human ears to cover her elven ones. They were cleverly concealed in tiny silver studs attached on Holly's ear and were switched on when the earpieces were removed. Predictably, they would not stand close inspection. Anyone with a sharp eye would be able to see the way Holly's hair shifted to admit for the long ears and the battery would last twenty minutes at most with the risk of the hologram flickering. That was the primary reason Holly had been so frightened. Even though the hologram did not flicker, she was almost sure Artemis would see her ears. If not Artemis, then Aidan might have. The boy had sharp senses for certain. The class was not a big threat. They were far away enough to dismiss any sightings as hallucinations.  
  
"Ah, those would be his hearing aids since he has a genetic hearing disorder, correct?" deduced Father Patrick cleverly. "Are they damaged?"  
  
"Uh, no, sir," stammered Alexei. For a moment or two, the priest gazed at Alexei and the boy thought he saw something flicker in those brown eyes. It was gone as soon as it came.  
  
"Since you're already in the front, why don't we begin class by introducing yourself," suggested the priest, sitting down on his seat. "And unless Aidan and Mr. Fowl would like to introduce themselves as well, they should go to their seats. Last warning."  
  
Aidan automatically moved to his seat, but Artemis was not so easily moved. His piercing gaze and eyes were turned at full intensity on Alexei, and he continued to do so even when he sat down on his seat. Alexei resisted the urge to snap a glare Artemis's way, but instead settled for a cough and tugging at his collar.  
  
"Have you forgotten something, Mr. Forster?" asked Father Patrick.  
  
"E-excuse me?" asked Alexei faintly.  
  
Father Patrick nodded to Alexei. "Your tie. You forgot your tie," he said in a bland voice.  
  
Alexei blinked. Holly was faintly aware of what ties were in the Mud Men culture. It was a strip of cloth used to fasten the collars around their necks, disturbingly like a leash. So that was what that bit of cloth was for. She had left it on top of her unmade bed back in the dormitory.  
  
"Oh," mumbled Alexei, "Um, sorry, I was. in school in Japan and we didn't have ties back then. I'm still adjusting."  
  
"No doubt,' said Father Patrick critically. "Now sit up straight and introduce yourself."  
  
Alexei coughed once more and focused his gaze in a point anywhere in the classroom that was not in Artemis Fowl's direction. "My name is Alexei Forster," said the red haired boy evenly. "I really don't live anywhere considering I go wherever my father's job takes him as a diplomat. But, um, he thought that it wasn't very good that I didn't stay in the same country for a whole year much less a school so he sent me here. There's really nothing about me that's very interesting so."  
  
The class murmured in interest. One girl whose hair was arranged in a French braid asked, "What sort of places have you gone to?"  
  
Alexei glanced at Father Patrick who was listening intently just to make sure he was able to answer the question. "Um, I've been to France and Italy. the pasta's great in Italy." muttered Alexei lamely. Truth be told, the one time she had spent a large amount of time in Italy had been the incident with the troll three years ago. She had crashed into a birthday party, knocked out a troll, knocked out the rest of the humans, and had been knocked out herself out of exhaustion. Needless to say, she had not eaten any pasta.  
  
"You said you went to Japan? Could you tell us about Tokyo?" asked another.  
  
Alexei fought the urge to scowl. "Tokyo's a really crowded city," he stated simply.  
  
There was silence from a little of the students in class who clearly sensed Alexei's unspoken hint. However, most of them were not that astute and question after question followed about Tokyo, other countries he'd been in, what it was like being the son of a diplomat, what were the girls like in other countries etc. Alexei felt most uncomfortable, feeling the eyes of a rather enthusiastic and curious class of little Mud boys and girls on her. Holly was a friendly, good-humored fairy by nature. Under normal circumstances, she would have not been too annoyed at the various questions being asked. However, these were not very normal circumstances. She was undercover for heaven's sake! So Alexei answered as monosyllabic as he could to every question that went his way.  
  
A chill voice sliced easily through the chatter as knife would through butter, commanding the attention of every single person in the class from the very first syllable that dropped from his lips. Perhaps it was the authority and power strangely combined with ennui underlining the quiet voice that made it heard. It was not the volume truly, but there was intensity in that voice that made it reverberate without being loud. "What's the name of your father?" asked Artemis, his face and eyes bland. He seemed indifferent to all the chatter. To everyone, he maintained a faintly curious expression, as if a passing notion caught his fancy.  
  
Alexei, without meaning to, glanced up and saw indifferent, chill eyes gazing at him expectantly. Anger flamed in Alexei's hazel eyes and he dropped his gaze. Damn the boy. Artemis knew that the best way to ask questions and get them answered would be in front of a large crowd of people where she could not simply refuse. Cunning as always. Holy didn't even want to know why Artemis wanted Alexei Forster's father's name. The answer would be most likely something she didn't want to happen. So much for undercover around Mud people.  
  
Fingers clutching the book bag clenched the handle so tightly the knuckles turned white. Alexei rolled his eyes and said quietly in a clipped voice, "Philip. His name is Philip." After that, Artemis spoke no more although Alexei was sufficiently unnerved.  
  
After two minutes of what seemed like interrogation, Father Patrick finally called to the class, "All right, that's enough about Mr. Forster. If you have anything else to say, socialize with him on your own free time. Alexei, kindly take your seat beside Mr. Fowl." Alexei didn't know which he dreaded more: being interrogated by Mud people or sitting beside public enemy number one, Artemis Fowl. Each step the red haired boy took seemed like an age and he kept his eyes on his feet, focusing on not bumping into anything, and flicking his eyes upwards only to make sure that he was going the right direction. Within thirty seconds, Alexei had seated himself. Holly's ears, within the earpieces, were beginning to burn. She could feel Artemis's gaze, keener than a scalpel, taking in her appearance.  
  
"I've already graded the essays on." said Father Patrick, but Holly didn't hear anymore. Although her gaze was dead straight and calm, her nerves were tingling. She shot a glance once in Artemis's direction, but he seemed to be paying her no heed. On the contrary, he seemed to be focusing on what Father Patrick was saying, face as emotionless as a block of ice. If she hadn't known Artemis better, she would have dismissed her notions as signs of paranoia but, accordingly, underestimate Artemis Fowl, just one slip with the Irish boy, and he'd turn the tables against you as effortlessly as the sun pulled the planets around it.  
  
Alexei maintained a cool, aloof face to the rest of the world, but it was not impossible to detect the signs of agitation on his countenance. And Artemis Fowl was a master of reading other people's emotions. Alexei Forster was hiding. He was hiding something beneath the surly exterior. The raven haired, slender Irish boy allowed the new student to glance his way surreptitiously several times while Artemis listened with half his attention to what Father Patrick was saying. There was something incredibly strange about Alexei Forster, this so-called son of a diplomat. He seemed particularly upset when Artemis reached for his earpiece. It had been an instinct really. The metal contraption had fallen to his side. It had fallen exterior up so he had not been able to glimpse the mechanics within, but it seemed so strange. Almost as strange as the way Alexei's hair parted around near his ears almost as if. Artemis tried and failed to put it into concrete thought, but he felt it teasing the edge of his consciousness. Artemis was not an avid fan of ESP, fascinating subject as it was, but he had the strangest sense of déjà vu around Alexei that was strangely set off by everything else about him. It's the eyes, decided Artemis, There's something very familiar about the eyes if anything. Artemis glanced sidelong as Alexei took something out of his book bag. The eyes were hazel with a strange sheen in them. It was almost as if there was something in the surface that made them stand out abnormally. Were they contacts? Artemis couldn't be sure without looking closer and attracting Alexei's attention. He turned his gaze back to the white board where Father Patrick was laying down notes.  
  
The back of Holly's neck was prickling once more, and the elf stifled the urge to strangle something. Someone was looking at her for sure. Was it Fowl? A glance to her right revealed that it was not he. But she couldn't be sure. A quick, searching glance at those in front of her quickly told her that no one there was staring at her. Holly bit her lower lip and dropped her pencil. She went down on her knees to get it and was able to crane her head to get a clear view of all those in the back of her. She caught Aidan glancing away. Aidan? Was it Aidan then? The elf's pulse sped up as she pondered whether Aidan had seen her ears. But wouldn't he have said something if he saw her ears? Mud people usually did. But Mud people did not usually look like fairies.  
  
As Holly returned to her seat, thoughts chased themselves around her mind, confused and frantic. Dare she try and mesmerize Aidan? Would her magic let her? Hypothetically, if she was capable of automatic healing, then she should be able to mesmerize anyone. Even Artemis. Holly glanced to her right once more. Artemis was tapping something into his computer console. But mesmer had not been tried on someone who had been mind wiped before. What were the chances of mesmerizing someone who had already been mind wiped anyway? This had to be a first in LEP history. She wasn't completely sure what the effects of a mesmer on a mind wiped mind were. And Artemis Fowl was not someone you wanted to take chances with. And Aidan is? prodded a voice, unbidden inside her mind, Is he someone you want to take chances with as well? A discreet glance to the back left where Aidan was revealed that the boy was doing the same thing as Artemis, typing furiously in his console. No, came the answer, quite firm and strong, I don't know who or what he is, but I know that I need to be very careful around him.  
  
The rest of the class passed more or less uneventfully. Aidan was not in her math class, and Alexei assured him that he was capable of finding his way back to the Monastery from the classrooms. The two would meet up later in the cafeteria. The elf was no longer very sure how to act around Aidan except to be natural. Aidan did not seem to be the type who appreciated plastic smiles and laughter, but neither did he seem to tolerate unnecessary and useless chatter. If the situation did not please him, he had a habit of clamming up instead of voicing his opinions. A reserved, easy going Mud boy, decided Holly, who could easily be taken advantage of by other people if Aidan's not careful. He did not display any more signs of interest in Alexei except to be of some help navigating the Cathedral. Neither did he mention the incident with Alexei's earpieces. Again, Holly was undecided on whether to monitor him closely or to drag him into a dark corner, mesmerize him and have him spill his guts. She eventually chose the former as the effects of the latter were still unknown and could well be disastrous.  
  
Artemis also did not display any signs of interest to Alexei. He ignored him like he did everyone else, gliding throughout the hallways with the unmistakable elegance and grace only a predator could exude. It was almost sad to watch Artemis toy with the people who dared cross his path. But she also had to admit that Artemis only took his time to thoroughly harass someone, with only his voice and gaze might she mention, if the said someone put himself in Artemis's way. And no one did. At least not intentionally.  
  
He did attract the admiring glances of several girls in the hallways and classes Holly noticed. Artemis's effect in a hallway was near incredible. As soon as his footsteps were heard, the noise level died to discreet. A thousand eyes followed his progress. Small, discreet glares from envious or fearful males, the frightened girls were looking at anywhere but him, some were quite forcibly ignoring him going on their way chattering, while other females quite openly flirted with him. Small pockets of females that dotted the hallways giggled and whispered behind palms or purposely posed to attract his attention. Artemis ignored them, and continued on his way, a solitary figure parting the crowds as easily as sunlight sliced through the shadow. It was easy to follow Artemis's slender figure sailing down the hallways.  
  
Alexei coughed slightly to get Aidan's attention. "That Artemis Fowl. he seems to be quite the character," commented Alexei.  
  
"Mmm," said Aidan, face dispassionate and eyes staring ahead. But Alexei knew he had Aidan's attention by the way Aidan's gray eyes flicked ever so slightly to Artemis's back.  
  
"Do you know him?" asked the red haired boy, pressing the issue. The two of them were walking briskly to Alexei's Calculus class. Luckily enough, Aidan's class was near by so he did not have to leave Alexei. Artemis seemed to be going the same path as they, which unfortunately brought him into Alexei and Aidan's attention.  
  
"Yeah," said Aidan.  
  
"How?"  
  
"We've been schoolmates ever since we came to school in St. Bartleby's," answered the gray eyed boy.  
  
"Oh," said Alexei, eyes drifting towards Artemis. "Do you know him personally? Have you ever talked to him?"  
  
"Only a few times," said Aidan. "Do you know him?"  
  
"Excuse me?" asked the red haired boy, thrown off by the question.  
  
Aidan glanced at Alexei's surprised countenance. "I asked if you knew Artemis. You seem interested in him. And back in the class just then. you seemed eager to get away. From him."  
  
Alexei's breath caught in his throat imperceptibly, amazed at the acuity with which Aidan perceived his surroundings. "No," said Alexei after a long moment of hesitation, "no, I don't. I've. only heard about him."  
  
"I see," said Aidan. He had stopped by a door in which Artemis had disappeared into. "You sure you don't need help going back to the Monastery?"  
  
"Of course not," said Alexei. "I'll see you in the cafeteria."  
  
Aidan nodded minutely and left for his own classroom. Alexei frowned at his disappearing back before turning his attention to the classroom  
  
Artemis was seated somewhere in the back, idly looking outside the window. A tall, sultry female of striking beauty wearing the St. Bartleby's uniform for girls in such a way as to make it cling seductively to her curves was tiptoeing behind Artemis, a voracious glitter in her dark eyes.  
  
"You don't even want to try sneaking up on me, Isolde," said Artemis in a voice that bespoke of boredom.  
  
"When did you see me?" asked Isolde, pouting. She sat on Artemis's desk, forcing him to look up to her. She pulled on her luxurious dark hair, the sheen in them reflecting off the sunlight. Dark locks were fashionably curled at the end and was gathered in a high ponytail that accentuated her sensuality.  
  
"I didn't need to see you," said Artemis flatly. His sapphire eyes were hooded and his face was stolid.  
  
Isolde cocked her head to the side, her smiling revealing perfect white teeth. "Is that any way to greet an old friend?" she asked.  
  
"We were never friends," replied the dark haired Irish boy with a tone of finality. "And if you'll kindly leave before the teacher gets here, I would very much appreciate having my desk back."  
  
"You seem to be concentrating awfully hard on a class you know you'd ace anyway," continued the dark haired girl. She leaned towards him, closing the distance between them. Her voice dropped a few octaves, "What say we ditch this class, hmm?"  
  
Artemis was watching her as emotionlessly as ever, but there was wariness in his eyes. His breath caught in his throat at Isolde's proximity and his lips parted in tiny surprise. Beyond Isolde's shoulder, he saw hazel eyes widen, watching in complete and utter shock made only far too obvious with the jaw dropping. He snapped to his senses and averted his face, irritation flashing in his sapphire eyes. He quickly scooted his chair back and stood up. "Don't do that," he snapped.  
  
Isolde seemed momentarily surprised before she regained her composure. "Of course," she said, and there was a hint of sulk in her voice, "We'll finish it later." She went to her desk but paused by Alexei who had remained rooted to the spot, eyes cast down. "Oh, you must be the new student everyone's talking about," she smiled at the new boy. "Rumors are going around that you're father is a rich minister."  
  
Alexei mouthed words soundlessly before looking up and saying, "No, my father is just a diplomat working for the United Nations." His voice was bland, but there was a burning curiosity in his eyes as he gazed at her. "Who are you?"  
  
"My name is Isolde O'Ciardha. My father is the CEO of Ciardha Enterprises," she said, smiling.  
  
"Oh," said Alexei simply before walking to his seat. Isolde seemed taken aback by Alexei's terseness, but was distracted by the arrival of their teacher.  
  
Alexei was, by now, very confused. Thoughts tangled and battled inside, each demanding attention and each just adding to the forest of questions growing inside his head. Holly knew that Artemis was by now about sixteen or so, and that he must have some relationships with Mud girls his age, but she hadn't expected something so.. She hadn't expected a public display of intimacy with another Mud girl. For heaven's sake, it was a classroom. And for reasons she had yet to decipher, she didn't like this Isolde. Not one bit.  
  
The red haired boy winced as the teacher called his attention sharply back to class. Alexei hastily bleated out an apology. When the teacher's attention was safely diverted elsewhere, Holly winced once more. Just when the teacher had called her, there was a sharp pain in her chest. Come to think of it, she'd been having chest pains for a while now. She just hadn't mentioned it to anyone in fear that they would use that as an excuse to pull her out of this assignment. Back then, there had been other issues to attend to and the pains had only been faint and passing. Now, it seemed as if someone had just slapped her on the chest with a big stink worm. Repeatedly. Alexei frowned and put a hand over his chest. His heart was beating very quickly, but also erratically. No good. Even she knew that. All of a sudden, she just wanted to get out of the classroom. The bell that rang at twelve-thirty could never be welcomer.  
  
Alexei hastily gathered his things, barely noting to take down the homework that had been assigned, and went out the door. A hand flashed out to catch his wrist and Alexei quickly dodged to the side, eyes flashing in surprise and hostility. Isolde stared at him with something akin to delight cleverly hidden inside her brown eyes. "You really are defensive, aren't you?" she asked.  
  
Alexei shrugged coolly, trying to ignore how his sudden movements made the hammering on his chest escalate. He stooped to pick up his fallen book bag, ignoring the curious stares of the students who were walking down the halls. He would have ignored Isolde completely and strode down and out the Cathedral had she not decided to socialize.  
  
"Listen, Alexei, I know you're a new student so I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch with my friends and I. It'll be really fun," she promised with a smile.  
  
Hazel eyes gazed suspiciously at Isolde's pleasant countenance. No, not pleasant. Isolde was pleasing to the eye, sultry and beautiful, but she was not pleasant. There was a trap hidden somewhere behind the friendly brown eyes, the inviting smile, the beautiful face, and the sensual form. "No, thanks," said Alexei, trying to sound amiable but instead coming out strangled, "I was going to have lunch with Aidan."  
  
"Well you can invite Aidan too, silly," laughed Isolde. Her eyes flickered past Alexei and the boy stiffened.  
  
"Artemis," smiled Isolde eagerly. "Would you like to have lunch with us too?"  
  
The latest person she invited to have lunch with her was just exiting the Calculus class. Artemis's only response was an indifferent, freezing glance that all but shouted the response Alexei was tempted to say: Hell no.  
  
"Or would you like to have lunch with just me?" flirted Isolde.  
  
"I'd like to have lunch with you," said the raven haired boy softly, "about as much as I'd like to have lunch with a cannibal."  
  
Isolde smile faded only half a notch before she asked brightly, "May I speak with you alone, Artemis? Alexei, excuse us. You won't miss where I sit in the cafeteria."  
  
Alexei discreetly watched as Artemis very reluctantly allowed Isolde to lead him somewhere beyond her vision. Holly was surprised. Not because Isolde had invited Artemis, but because Artemis allowed himself to be lead off. Artemis, as far as her memory went, never let anyone make him do anything anywhere and at any time. It seemed totally against character. "What are you up to, Artemis?" murmured Alexei underneath his breath. He gasped, his vision swimming as his heart reeled. "Wh-what's going on?" muttered Alexei. "What's happening to me?" No! she thought desperately, fighting for consciousness though she could already tell by the blackness eating her vision what was happening, not again! This is so Victorian..! 


	12. Of lakes and skeletons

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are the works of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
  
Scene Five: Of lakes and skeletons  
  
She was back in the lake. This time there was no dying wind or bleeding sun. It was all dark save for the faint twinkling of stars overhead. The silence permeated the environment so strongly the elf almost felt like choking in it. The trees did not speak to her, nor did the grass. The only sound she was able to discern was the ominous roll of the wind as it pushed weakly against the body of water she knew lay before her.  
  
Her initial reaction was to back away. Her fairy intuition had promptly gone on overdrive when she discovered where she was. She remembered this place although previously, in the safe light of Haven and her friends, she had dismissed it as an unusual nightmare. But this time.  
  
The song began once more, plaintive and pleading. Holly knew those notes. She had heard them before, had not been able to resist its call, and had nearly . nearly been lost because of it.  
  
"No," she breathed, "I won't listen! Not again!" In an act of desperation, she reared away from the lake, drawing her hands to stop her ears from hearing the sounds futilely. It was then she noticed, for perhaps the first time, what it was she was wearing. In her original visit to this remote location, she had been wearing a simple, sleeveless white dress with thigh high slits on either side for mobility. The length of the simple white dress touched her toes. It had been an odd choice of accoutrement, as she had not worn a skirt much less a dress for decades. She didn't even own one as far as she knew. What little dresses she did wear in rare occasions in the years long past had been a matter of necessity, brought on by sharp formalities in places her mother brought her to. Once her parents had died and she had started working on her own, she found little use or practicality in dresses.  
  
The garment itself was a mystery. It was made of a weightless, silky material that floated about her with grace, allowing her complete freedom in movement. The dress started as a tube top where it tapered to the natural curves of her body, hugging her torso down to where it ended scant centimeters from her hips. The skirt then hugged her hips and floated down to her ankles flaring gently as the material was slitted like a flower. It was pure white, like dandelion fluff or cumulus clouds in a beautiful summer day. She would not have minded the dress at all if it had not been for the metal adornments. A thin but strong triangular plate made of some metal was fastened to the front and back of the upper portion of the dress and on either upper points of the metal was a chain that linked to a choker resting heavily on her neck. Her hand came to brush the choker and she recoiled at the cold stinging feel of it. She could feel it burning the flesh of her neck. The fairy suddenly realized that her wrists and ankles were similarly restrained with the same band of restrictive metals.  
  
There was a sharp tug on her left foot and she slid forward. The elf yelped, clawing at the dirt and trying to grab something, anything, to keep her from being dragged forward. To her horror, she found that the anklets and bracelets on her were fastened to a chain and the chain led from the adornments down to the bottom of the lake. The pull had come from the chains being yanked. Desperately, she fought against the strong pull and tried to pry the restraints off despite the fact that her fingers burned when she merely brushed the strange metal.  
  
"No!" screamed the red haired elf hoarsely, "Let go of me!" All the training in the LEP Academy, all the experience she had on the field, all the classes she'd ever taken to defend herself and turn the tables to her side melted away at this strange assault of not only on her physical body but of her mind as well. The song continued to wash over her, soothe her, drowning her in its music. Hysteria threatened to overwhelm her completely. She knew, in a subconscious level, that if she let go, that if she gave up and was dragged in even for one second, she would be lost forever. There was an endless abyss in those waters, an endless road that led to nowhere, a path that whispered forbidden promises and gifts. She never wanted to see herself in that same light again. She never wanted to see her image tainted and changed. "Get away! Get away from me!" And this time she knew there would be no voice to help her, no familiar, comforting voice to pull her back because it had taken everything to make the voice be heard the last time. No, this time she was truly alone.  
  
Well, maybe not.  
  
Holly received a shock in her mind. Her vision blurred as she thought she saw the environment shift dramatically before her. Instead of the dark night and lake, she saw dispassionate stonewalls lit by electric lights. Instead of the harsh grass and soil underneath her, she felt the cool touch of marble. Instead of the dark lake filling her vision and mind, she saw intense sapphire eyes gazing in pure bewilderment, a hint of fear and, most ironic of all, concern. If she weren't so busy fighting for her life, she would have laughed at the sheer irony of it all.  
  
She whimpered, arching her back, as she fought for breath. It felt as if she were underwater and could not breathe. The two contrasting environments fed her senses, fighting for dominance, and making her head hurt in overload, but she held on. She would not faint.  
  
Artemis was so close. He was hovering above her, mouthing words she could not hear. She saw his hands going to brush her forehead and feel her pulse, but she could not feel it. The lake trembled and she was yanked again. Terror lanced her face and tightened inside her chest. She mustn't look, she mustn't listen to the song from the lake, and from the power it distilled. She must never look lest she lose herself.  
  
So instead, she focused on the boy near her, willing her eyes to rest on his face, willing her body to feel his touch, forcing her ears to hear his voice.  
  
".wrong?" asked the raven haired, Irish boy. Holly felt his hands quickly though tentatively feel her pulse once more, and felt the aggravation in his body as he realized it was still going far too fast. Dangerously too fast. And the more she concentrated on him, the less she heard the song, and the less she felt the chains pulling at her limbs. "Hold on, I'm going to get help." The hand left her and she felt the air shift as he moved away. His eyes, like twin beacons that did not dim despite the blackness slyly eating her vision, disappeared, and a cry rose from her throat.  
  
"No!" she gasped, her hand instinctively catching his wrist. Amidst the horrendous ache in her chest and the angry throbbing in her head, she whispered frantic words, "Don't leave." Her fingers may have curled viselike around his wrist, but at the moment Holly was in no position to think about it. The boy slowly returned to his position beside her, eyes peering intensely.  
  
"A-all right," he said, hesitating. Artemis's hand slowly clasped Alexei's, trying to offer support. Comforting was not his forte. So he did the only thing he thought could help, and that was to hold Alexei's hand.  
  
For a long moment, the red haired boy held terribly still and he seemed dead. His glassy hazel eyes gazed wordlessly, filled with so much pain. Abruptly, Artemis was filled with fear. Despite all his criminal activities and under the table dealings, despite all the dangerous men he associated with and all the dangerous situations he had gone through, he had never really seen a dead person, and he did not want to.  
  
He leaned in close, trying to discern some telltale sign. There seemed to be tightening in the new boy's chest, as if something was freezing him in place. He stilled the shaking in his voice, and whispered, "Breathe. Just breathe."  
  
As if his words carried magic, Alexei expelled a breath. A flush of color returned to his coffee complexion, and his breaths came in small and uneven. His lids flickered several times, as if trying to adjust to the light in the room. Presently, hazel eyes wearily focused on Artemis who waited with baited breath. "Don't let go," whispered Alexei barely before he fainted yet again.  
  
When Holly next awoke, she was lying in a bed in the medical ward. The room was narrow and spare, furnished with only Spartan beds, a few chairs, and a mobile partition for privacy. Stained windows on the left wall let in the dying afternoon sunlight. It drew strange patterns on Holly's head and shoulders, bathing her in an infrared light and making her look ethereal and preternatural. She was resting at the very far end of the room, away from the quiet bustle of the front office where the nurse was tending to an assortment of minor injuries, most sustained from sports the students were participating in.  
  
The first thought that crossed the elf's mind was annoyance. Fainting spell? Yet again? How ridiculously Victorian. That sort of thing went out of fashion centuries ago among the mass of fairies. True, there had been a few schools that still taught that particular behavior, but it had only been for the very rich and for the very elite of the fairy class. Still, fainting was for weak females, and, as Holly had proved so many times in the past, she was far from weak.  
  
That line of thought inevitably turned to wondering why she had fainted. Her mind was still fuzzy, but she seemed to remember something about hurting inside her chest and a lake and. sapphire eyes? What? Her head spun, and she closed her eyes, seeking to placate it. What did she remember?  
  
She remembered Isolde inviting her to go to lunch, and then inviting Artemis who had just showed up. Then Artemis and Isolde went some place for some reason she could not remember. She fainted and . the dream! The lake! Just the thought of it made Holly's fingers clench her blanket tightly, just to make sure she was there and not anywhere near a lake.  
  
She had dreamt of being dragged into a lake against her will by a force she could not resist for long. This was not the first time she had dreamt it either. The first time had been when she was knocked out by the first sight of her image when Mercury had enspelled her. That time she had been saved by a voice, had been called and lulled home by a familiar voice. This time, this time she was saved, however inadvertently, by a criminal.  
  
Holly gave in to her desires and chuckled softly, ironically. Someone up there must have some sick sense of humor.  
  
"I take it you're well now?" asked a soft, familiar voice softly. Holly gasped, half expecting intense blue eyes gazing at her piercingly, but instead Aidan's gray eyes stared at her from a dark corner where he had been sitting.  
  
Holly stared gravely back at him, wariness and suspicion in her features. Something ominous was happening to her, purposely hurting her and drawing her to somewhere she didn't want to be. Or perhaps it was a someone.  
  
Aidan stood up and approached her bed. Beneath the sheets, Holly's hands were clenched in anticipation. When he drew close and his proximity began flashing alarm bells in her head, he spoke softly, "You gave the nurse a good fright."  
  
Holly coughed lightly, wincing. "What did she say?" asked the elf. Discreetly, she checked that both her earpieces were still in place. It was a miracle that it had not been removed.  
  
"She said you must have fainted from heat exhaustion," replied the brown haired boy. He frowned at Holly, doubt in his eyes.  
  
"Ah," answered Holly noncommittally. It had been a ridiculous diagnosis, but much preferable than the truth.  
  
"Are you feeling all right?" queried the dark haired boy. "The nurse said that all you needed for it was rest, and that you could go as soon as you felt well."  
  
"I'm fine," replied the red haired fairy firmly. She drew the blankets aside and placed her legs to the floor. A little shaky, but otherwise fine. Aidan approached her side, and Holly took a few steps back to distance herself. "I'm fine," repeated the female. "I don't need help."  
  
Aidan backed away courteously. "I'll go and tell the nurse you woke up," he said quietly, "Wait for me in the hallway outside."  
  
"Wait," requested the hazel-eyed elf. "I. I fainted in the . hallway?" At Aidan's minute nod, Holly continued, "Then who brought me here?"  
  
"I don't know," said Aidan in a tone that indicated negligence or perhaps indifference. He continued to the nurse, although Holly frowned at his disappearing back. She turned for the exit. Was it Artemis truly that saved her? Her experience had left her shaken and unsure. This wasn't all some sort of hallucination, was it? No. couldn't be.  
  
She leaned quietly by the windowsill, letting the warmth of the dying afternoon sun seep into her body. Aidan soon reappeared by her side. He offered no comments as, together, they made their way down the hallway, descending the flight of stairs, and down the long walk to the Monastery. In the long shadows of the afternoon, the place seemed almost peaceful and. tired.  
  
Holly fidgeted with her blazer, "Hey. thanks for coming to get me. I don't really need help or anything. It really must have been hot."  
  
Aidan shrugged coolly, and he murmured, "Maybe."  
  
The elf stopped. She paused in her walk, and did not speak until Aidan was a few steps ahead of her and was looking at her eyes in askance. "What are you thinking?" asked the red haired new student. She was rapidly beginning to tire of the secrets and the games around the school. If Aidan was going to act suspicious now, then heaven help her, she would have him out it.  
  
"Why do you ask?" retorted the taller boy.  
  
The fairy frowned, and her eyes narrowed. Gray eyes stared back at her, expression bland. She felt fine now, her heart was beating at a steady pace, but there was something else. If she concentrated, she could almost see the Mud boy's aura swirling around him. And.  
  
"Oh, Alexei, I was so worried over you!" yelled a feminine voice. The next thing Holly knew, someone had clasped her left shoulder, and Isolde was gazing steadily at her with earnestly concerned eyes.  
  
"Uh," muttered Holly, "What?"  
  
Isolde continued, "I heard that you fainted in the hallway. Are you sick?"  
  
Holly blinked several times. "You heard?" she repeated, "Heard from whom?"  
  
"Oh, my friend said she saw Artemis carrying you to the Nurse's office," explained Isolde. "But are you hurt?"  
  
"I'm fine," answered Holly a bit dazedly. I was carried? By Artemis? Since when could he even carry me? she thought, before turning to the inevitable, So he was the one who helped me. He was the one who saved me.  
  
"You sure?" persisted the dark haired girl. She leaned towards Holly's face, peering intently at her eyes. Holly took a reflexive step back.  
  
"I'm fine," repeated Holly, letting the slightest notes of annoyance creep in her voice. "The Nurse said it must have been heat exhaustion."  
  
"I see," nodded Isolde knowledgably. "Well, it's too bad. You can come have lunch with my friends tomorrow then! Aidan can come too, if he wants." The human girl smiled prettily up at Aidan who averted his gaze to stare at the ground.  
  
"Isolde!" yelled a distant voice. The three looked up to see a group of students hanging out by a tree. One attractive boy was waving at Isolde.  
  
The girl laughed softly, "The barbarian. I told him to stop that yelling. I'll see you two boys tomorrow. Bye!" She walked briskly to her friends.  
  
Holly stared after Isolde. "Is she always like that?" she asked Aidan. Aidan shuffled his feet, subconsciously indicating to Holly to start walking once more.  
  
"I don't know," the gray eyed boy, "I don't pay attention to the girls very much."  
  
"I see," said Holly. There was silence as the two of them made their way up to the Monastery, down the hallways, and into their dormitory. Holly was about to walk inside her bedroom when Aidan's voice made her pause.  
  
"Artemis helped you then," said Aidan. "Now you know."  
  
Holly glanced up at him, surprise in her features, "He helped me to the Nurse's office, if what Isolde said was true. What does it matter?"  
  
"Nothing," returned the boy. "Nothing at all." He disappeared inside his bedroom and shut the door.  
  
"Well Foaly?" asked Holly. "Is there anything coming up on the screens?" Holly was communicating with the LEP head tech in the dead of the night. As soon as flares had let it, she had contacted the centaur in the hopes of securing a more specific location for the possible magic traces the previous scans had come up with. In her opinion, the manual, undercover investigation was going far too slowly. In preparation for this, she had made sure Aidan was in his rooms, and she had locked her own door. She was also whispering in the very remote possibility somebody was eavesdropping on her. Paranoid, true, but with the surprises she had been receiving, entirely justified.  
  
Besides, if her dreams were not hallucinations brought on by her new body, and someone or something truly was trying to harm her as she suspected, then the sooner she solved this case and returned to Haven the better. In all events, she still had a score to pay with that Mercury. Chix. no, Mercury, thought Holly, feeling a clenching in her heart at the thought of her enemy, Is it you in there, Chix? Do you know what you're doing? Who you are now?  
  
"Not the buildings, that's for sure," laughed the centaur from Holly's ear COMs. "If what you felt this morning was true, then the magic hits aren't likely to be in the actual Cathedral itself. Something big like that couldn't handle interference as big as a church. No, if there are spells bouncing off this place, it's somewhere on the actual grounds. You say the Monastery is clear?"  
  
The elf Recon agent assented. "I ran a scanner even. There's nothing here that the sensors or my own magic can pick up," supported the elf.  
  
"At least nothing recent," contradicted the centaur, flicking his tail. "The temp scanner I sent you with can't pick up the faded traces." After a moment, he added, "Although if anything serious were going down here, you should be able to pick it up."  
  
Holly grimaced, noting the smug pride Foaly displayed at the power of his own customized scanners. "Riveting, yes. I may be able to pick it up, but I'm not," said Holly, "Now start talking, Foaly. Amaze me with your prowess and give me results. The quicker the better."  
  
"Okay, okay, no need to get your pointy ears in a twist," grumbled the centaur. Holly twitched at that comment, one hand going to rub the one ear she had freed from the earpiece. Her elven ears did not like being confined to such a space as the earpiece. She made sure to moisturize each ear before sleeping at night. "I've just updated the scans and I reran them. I can't come up with anything definitive."  
  
"Billions we pour into your department, Foaly," said Holly in a deadpan tone, "and you can't find the location of a single, lousy magical ritual."  
  
"Hey!" protested the centaur, hurt in his voice, "this isn't as simple as it seems. The scanners can't pick up the actual trace elements of the magic. That's impossible with the technology we have now. Rather, it picks up the characteristic abnormalities in the area that lingers around the trace elements. You understand these trace elements are usually molecular if you perform even a major magical surgery, such as the one you did with Butler. That barely caused a blip on my scanners. These abnormalities my scanners are picking up on are around the Cathedral. However, the abnormalities do not indicate the actual area where the trace elements are so the magic must be bouncing off the Cathedral. There are other hits, but they're all concentrated on the St. Bartleby's estate. I can send you where those hits are, if you'd like."  
  
"Humph," snorted the elf, "yes, please. I've got nothing better to do here than to endure the company of Mud men anyway."  
  
"Ahh," said the centaur, and there was a hint of facetiousness in his voice. "How are the little Mud boys and girls anyway?"  
  
"Boorish," responded the elf curtly. "Have you hacked into the St. Bartleby's mainframe?"  
  
"Way ahead of you," complied Foaly. "There's plenty of extortion going on. You know, the usual outrageous prices they charge the parents of the students and all that. Nothing too criminal, though. I also ran a check on their employees list. There's no one with any outstanding criminal charges. None at least, that best our Master Fowl." Holly heard a quiet chuckle.  
  
"An employees check?" asked Holly, sitting up. "Did you dig up anything on the menservants they hire around here?"  
  
"No, actually," said Foaly, running the list on his screen once more. "Funny thing. The employees' list seems to be coming up short from the actual estimated sum. I don't think they've updated their computer databases quite a while."  
  
"That's odd," Holly commented, "You'd think a private, elite school as St. Bartleby's would actually keep up their net service."  
  
"You think something's up with the staff?"  
  
"No. it's nothing. Probably nothing."  
  
"You sure?" asked Foaly, suspicion in his voice. "You're acting weird."  
  
"Am I?" returned Holly, injecting what she hoped to be the proper mixture of blandness, indifference, and mild surprise.  
  
"Did it have something to do with the disruptions in you ear pieces this afternoon?" continued the centaur. Holly cursed. She'd been quiet about the incident because she had been hoping it would be skirted over. Apparently not. "Your sensors blipped off for a while. I think there's about a gap of ten minutes in the tapes. I hope I didn't miss something important." There was suspicion in the centaur's voice.  
  
Holly was far too relieved to question the nature of this godsend. "No, you didn't," assured Holly, feeling a twinge at lying to Foaly. "Just a Mud Girl asking me to lunch."  
  
"Artemis's girlfriend, was it?" asked Foaly. He snickered a little, distracted from his previous train of thought. "I had no idea he had a significant other."  
  
Holly made a face. "I had no idea he was capable of enduring someone's company much less being close to them," she retorted.  
  
"Still angry, Captain?" asked the centaur, and there was laughter in his voice.  
  
"Wouldn't you be???" asked Holly back, exasperated.  
  
"You should be happy that Mud Boy's getting a life aside from cheating people," remarked the LEP techie. Holly could just imagine his catlike expression as he sat comfortably in his customized swivel chair.  
  
"Please," muttered the elf, rolling her eyes, "Spare me. Why are we talking about this anyway? Don't we have better things to do than talk about that Mud weasel's social life or lack thereof?"  
  
"According to the video this morning, it looks like he's getting plenty of social action from . what's her name again? Izzy or something?"  
  
"Isolde," corrected the elf, "Isolde O'Ciardha. Daughter of the CEO of some company. On second thought, check her and her family, Foaly."  
  
"Affirmative, Captain," responded the golden eyed fairy. "You think Isolde has something to do with our mission?"  
  
"Not really, but as one knows, one must never underestimate Artemis Fowl."  
  
"Isolde O'Ciardha. daughter and heir to the Ciardha family fortune. She's got a nice sum of money on her family alone, comparable to Artemis's own fortune although if Artemis continues the way he goes on now, he'll soon be running against the wealthiest men on the planet. I haven't looked too deep into it, but I have a feeling that her family isn't entirely above board. Not like the Fowl boy for sure, but the usual. Nothing too suspicious, but it'll take a few hours tops if I'm going to dig something up on the Ciardhas. Bit of an ancient and wealthy family in Ireland, you know. They know how to cover up their tracks pretty well."  
  
"Just tell me if anything comes up," returned Holly.  
  
"No problemo," quipped Foaly. After a moment of observing her feed, he asked, "Going somewhere?"  
  
"I'm going to poke around around this estate a bit. An entire night with uninterrupted investigation. Time for some night Recon," answered Holly, allowing a dangerous smile to slide in place. She rifled through the few clothing she had before eventually choosing Foaly's specially modified LEP jumpsuit. It had been a bit hectic, but Foaly had managed to modify a suit he had been tinkering with and given it to Holly as her LEP jumpsuit in cases of emergency aboveground.  
  
The bodysuit was completely black, as black as shadow, with a hint of green to it. There was a light armor that covered her shoulders and upper chest, thin metal protective gears on her elbows and knees, and a myriad of little openings that Holly had yet the time to decipher. "Foaly, what are these little openings that look like hook ups?" asked Holly, a little wary. Hook ups was the LEP slang for any electronic connections their machines were plugged into. It was a little unusual and disconcerting to see it on a LEP jumpsuit.  
  
"Ahh," remarked Foaly, "it's an experimental doodad that I still have to perfect. Just never mind those. Pretend they're design or something."  
  
"All right," relented Holly, doubt in her voice. She removed her earpiece and put a blanket on it before stripping herself of her Mud clothes and sliding on the jumpsuit. Well, cat suit really. The clothing covered her body completely: turtleneck on her neck, long sleeves and that hooked to the space between her middle and ring finger, and a similarly corresponding design on her feet.  
  
The material felt strange to Holly. It slid smoothly and softly down her skin, conforming perfectly to her willowy body, but she could feel the toughness and a strange stiffness in the fabric. "This thing acts just like a LEP jumpsuit, right? Heat coil, Thermal and neutrino dispersion."  
  
"Of course!" exclaimed the centaur indignantly, sounding clearly even though he was speaking through the COM set and blanket. "What do you take me for?"  
  
"I don't know, Foaly," smiled the female fairy wryly. "You've been holed up in the Ops booth for a while tinkering with your new inventions. How do I know this thing won't blow up on me?" Holly seriously doubted that it would, but it didn't pay to be casual around Foaly. She would never forget the rash of accidents that erupted in the LEP when they used Foaly's trigger finger invention. She had been careful not to be touched by anyone for a while.  
  
Finally, Holly slid on her elbow length gloves and thigh high boots. Once properly suited, Holly felt somewhat better. Familiarity breed comfort, after all, and she was in a foreign world for an indefinitely too long a time for her liking. Deep inside in a place Holly did not dare acknowledge, she felt homesick.  
  
"Can you shield?" asked Foaly, voice tinny from the earpiece.  
  
"No." admitted the elf reluctantly. "All my magic does is instant healing. You know that. I've already tried before."  
  
"Not a problem," hurried the centaur. He had definitely not wanted to get the thoughts of Holly's wayward magic into light. The red haired fairy might not have said or acted anything, but Foaly knew that Holly was deeply upset over the loss of her usual magic. Any fairy would have. "The LEP jumpsuits don't exactly come with a stealth coat, seeing as we've usually never had a non magic personnel in one but I think you can slip easily past the security. Time to strut your stuff as Recon captain, captain. Can you handle it?"  
  
Foaly's monitor fizzed a bit as it refocused. What he saw made him smile. Holly was standing in front of a mirror wearing his specialized cat suit wearing both earpieces and wearing a smile fit for a tiger. If only she had been wearing a LEP helmet with the buzz baton and neutrino at her side, she would have looked completely normal. "Watch me, Foaly. Just watch."  
  
It was a good thing that Foaly really was watching. Soon after slipping out of the Monastery, Holly was stealthily heading towards the coordinates Foaly gave her over the COM set. She had slipped on an iris cam in case she needed visual aids from Foaly that night. She had been steadily heading northwards across the vast estate, more than a trifle annoyed that she could not fly. Still, as Foaly pointed out, if there were creatures such as Mercury around, flying aboveground, even if Holly had been shielded, was tantamount to screaming, "KILL ME!"  
  
The Monastery security had been fairly easy to surpass. Although the school gave emphasis to its security (some pressing issues about some family's beloved offspring being at risk for various reasons), it certainly did not give Holly any problems. She had simply locked her door, slipped out the window, and slid silently down the fire escape conveniently located near her window. For a few brief moments, the elf had felt a nauseating dizziness that had everything to do with her new size and being so high aboveground without a wing set. She forcefully swallowed it down, and made it down the building. Thankfully, no klutz attacks came over her and there were no cameras pointed her way. Even if there were, Foaly would have taken good care of it although he would have teased Holly endlessly for such a silly slip up. The cameras that is, not the klutz attacks. Magic probably wouldn't be able to fix a pancake.  
  
Now the fairy was darting from shadow to shadow in the foliage. At first, the grounds had been well kept, relatively clean, and the plants beautifully tended. The third mile outwards, Holly could tell they had not paid enough attention to the flora. In addition, the environment of St. Bartleby's was yet again making her uneasy. As a nocturnal creature, the shadows shouldn't have bothered her. But it did. It bit down oppressively on her and it didn't help that the night possessed no moon or stars. The trees creaked sullenly in the dark, abruptly hostile and malicious. Now, Holly was a Recon officer and she was trained to withstand several mental pressures, but she could have sworn she heard something shaking as she passed across the lands.  
  
In the late autumn and early winter weather, trees cast the last of their now dead lives and brittle twigs on the ground. Pretty, but as good as chattering while sneaking in. Thank the sweet goddess for her elven gift of stealth. The fairies' close relationship with the earth had endowed them with the ability to walk (if necessary) quickly and silently over any surface so long as they took caution at it. At the ends of the tended paths were the imposing shrubbery that towered untamed to about three meters up in the air. Upon closer investigation, Holly discovered that sometimes the green wall was reinforced by a crumbling, vine encrusted, brick wall beneath. Puzzled, the elf wrinkled her brow, trying to recall what lay to the north of the estate. She didn't think she reached the outer wall yet.  
  
"You could ask me, " said Foaly in her ear, reading her thoughts. "I have a satellite photo of St. Bartleby's in front of me right now. Unfortunately, it might be a bit noticeable if I sent it to your wrist computer. But I will say that there's nothing in front of you but a lot of gardens sectioned off by walls. Pretty for those long walks, but it probably looks awful in winter. Bad luck for you, sweetheart. Even worse luck, I'm going to have to chart you the shortest course and it might take a bit of roundabout walking."  
  
But Holly wasn't paying attention. Sometime in the middle of the centaur's ramble, the elf had stilled in the shadow, sensing something moving beyond the field of her vision. She waited with baited breath. It was at the exact moment Foaly stopped talking when something dark and large lumbered towards her, concealed in the darkness. The elf squinted in the darkness and Foaly, having spotted the moving target, immediately supplemented with night vision. It was one of the menservants of the large institute. It was yet again wearing the same shapeless, suit uniform to the menial hired help of St. Bartleby's, but contrary to the other times she had seen them, this one was carrying a very large bag big enough to hold several regular sized sprites within. It was one of those Mud Men inventions, the one they liked to call a body bag. Another spark (Holly had gotten far too used to these little shocks in previous missions with Foaly's iris cams that she got away without tearing up too much) gave her x- ray vision.  
This time she couldn't help the breath that caught in her throat, and her heart skipped a beat. The x-ray revealed a jumbled chaos of limbs that joined, criss crossed, and stretched away from each other. Initially, Holly might have dismissed it as an odd collection of metal tools but then something there told her otherwise. Several skulls banged against each other. Were those skeletons in there? 


	13. Artemis Fowl is on the case Oh D'Arvit

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are the works of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer. Dedications: To Lisel, Helen, and Missy for being my kindred sprits, Doug for always being there for me and being your usual self, to my dear Oniichan for being such a good big brother, and to Anderson for being such a good critique and reviewer  
  
Scene Six: Artemis Fowl is on the case.Oh D'Arvit  
  
Silence. Above, below, and all around quietness pervaded the outdoor scene. No nocturnal animal made a sound, the wind didn't dare whisper, nor did any twig threaten to crackle in the undergrowth. Stillness. Nothingness. The world seemed to hold its breath.  
  
The irreverent shadows undulated and the serpentine silence stretched and intertwined. Within this unnatural stillness, Holly began to hear a song she had only heard once before in her dreams, a song whispered in the darkest recesses of the mind. It was faint, indistinct, but recognizable and it was within this silence, within the quietness that the manservant moved. All around his bulky form like a putrid stench on a week long dead corpse clung the song.  
  
The song called to her. As small as it was, the song still called to her. Unconsciously, Holly drew back, fighting the horror rising from inside her.  
  
The manservant lumbered to a stop, almost as if nervously sensing something waiting in the air. Sniff. The tall manservant sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring at its long indrawn breaths. In the dark, Holly felt her hands fist quietly, somehow unnerved by what the man was doing. It reminded her of something, but she couldn't place what it was. There was an utter sense of unnaturalness around him and this place that sent her skin crawling.  
  
A sudden fierce gust of biting, icy winds blew through the carrying a wave of inky darkness so thick it almost seemed tangible, and Holly suddenly found it very difficult to breathe or even to see.  
  
Faster than she thought possible, the man had dropped the body bag and tore to her hiding place. Reflexively, Holly swerved to the side and, in one fluid motion, charged her buzz baton. "Back off, Mud creature, or I'll fry you!" she threatened commandingly. The man paused, as if in momentary surprise, before uttering a loud howl and stampeding at Holly. Cursing mentally, Holly dodged to the side once more. This time, the manservant's momentum carried him flying past the elf. In half a second, Holly immediately saw an opening and raised her baton to deliver a swift, sound blow to the man's head. However, Lady Luck had other ideas. A well-timed klutz attack had Holly missing the man's head completely. The same klutz attack ensured that Holly stumbled and landed on her rump at her fall. For a moment, Holly sat, completely appalled at her lack of coordination. Her mind processed the facts but her body mistranslated somewhere in between. She couldn't believe it.  
  
However, the manservant had no such momentary pauses and he dove for the fairy. Holly instantly rolled to the side but in the lightning fast exchange of moves, she left her buzz baton behind her. With many a D'Arvit in her head, Holly rolled up, with no weapon at her side, and eyeing the fallen man warily. The manservant stood up quickly, also eyeing her. In but the few moments left to Holly, she felt the hardness of the wall behind her. Praying her plan would work, the fairy deliberately waited the slightest fraction of a second longer as the manservant charged at her before quickly dropping to the left. The man ran right against the wall with a resounding thud before collapsing back on the floor. The elf quickly rolled away and gazed cautiously at the fallen Mud creature.  
  
The darkness receded. Some light from faint stars filtered in. Her breaths came in freer now.  
  
Abruptly, Holly heard Foaly's voice in her ear saying, "Ooh, that's gotta hurt in the morning. Very resourceful, Captain. Thank the goddess you're enemy was very stupid or else your clumsiness would have cost you."  
  
Normally, Holly would have snapped back at the jibe. But she wasn't paying attention anymore. She had ears for something else. The song had stopped now. She could neither hear it nor feel it. Perhaps it hadn't even been there to begin with. Perhaps she'd just imagined it.  
  
"Unconscious, Captain. Possible head trauma. Oh for Dana's sake, scratch the possible. Most definitely a head trauma," continued Foaly. But then the manservant did something that had Holly's heart skyrocketing once more. The manservant groaned, twitching. She thought she saw eyes flicker.  
  
"Are you sure unconscious?" hissed Holly.  
  
"Uhh." muttered Foaly.  
  
In the dark, Holly began fumbling for her buzz baton. "Foaly!" growled Holly. "Buzz baton!"  
  
"A little to your left, Captain, near the tree root," reported the centaur promptly. "It might do to hurry up."  
  
"I know!" said Holly, fighting to keep her voice rising to a shriek. Inside, however, she couldn't help but add a fierce D'Arvit in her head. She finally located the seemingly harmless stick before flying over to where the manservant seemed to be stirring. The elf delivered a merciless blow to the back of the manservant's head, effectively knocking him out again. Holly sank beside the manservant, exhausted by her exertions, and took deep breaths. "What in Dana's name." she panted. That was when she felt something cold beside her. It twined around her arm, like a snake deceptively smooth and cool, crawling ever upwards. With a startled yelp, she jumped backwards, frantically trying to shake whatever it was loose. But when she looked, there was nothing.  
  
"Holly?" asked Foaly, sounding a little unsure.  
  
"Th-there was something that touched me just now!" explained the fairy immediately. "There was something there!"  
  
There were clicking sounds over the COMset, and Holly knew Foaly was taking a sweep of the surrounding areas as best he could. "Nothing's showing up," dissented Foaly. "And unless that man was trying to feel you up."  
  
"SHUT UP.!' fumed Holly. Her cheeks turned bright red at the mention, but she was grateful for the sudden comedy relief Foaly gave her. The sudden experience of having been attacked had unnerved her on several levels. On more ways than she'd care to admit even to herself.  
  
"I'm taking some sample pictures right now, but it'll be a bit tedious with the earpieces. Meanwhile. shouldn't you be checking out the bag?" prompted Foaly. Holly grunted and hauled herself up. She shouldn't be feeling so tired. She really shouldn't. But. Holly bit her lip and hoped Foaly would be too busy watching the events instead of checking her vitals. She switched strobes, once more seeing with the aid of x-ray.  
  
No doubt of it now. Although even more jumbled than before, those looked remarkably like bones in there. She gently unzipped the large body bag, and her breath caught in her throat. Bile rose in he throat and she heartily wished she hadn't seen anything. A mess of bones with bits of muscle still clinging stubbornly to the surface was stuffed inside the bag. The smell was atrocious, and the fairy forced herself not to step back. Foaly was rapidly taking pictures over his feed.  
  
"What. why was he carrying this? What is this? Are they carrying children's heads in these freak school?"  
  
"No.. no, Holly," denied Foaly. "Look closer. you see that little nub of bone sticking out, connected to the rib cage? That's an elf's skeleton. Those are fairies in there." And just like that, she was surrounded in darkness yet again. But this time, it was in her mind.  
  
No, no, no..  
  
No.. oh sweet goddess, they know  
  
They know about the People  
  
How much do they know?  
  
How?  
  
How did they know about us?  
  
They're killing us  
  
Why are they killing us?  
  
As if in a dream, Holly heard the almost thunderous footsteps. Pound, pound, pound. Each footfall struck the earth and sounded like a bass drum, almost like a roaring river in flood. There was a flirtatious giggle followed by shushing sounds and muffled laughter.  
  
Faster than thought, Holly melted away into the shadows.  
  
"Oh, David, you're such a flirt," laughed a feminine voice. A curvaceous girl appeared in view, clothed in a long sleeping gown, apparently having sneaked out. She was hanging off the arm of a boy who was dressed in an oversized t-shirt and jogging pants. The boy struck Holly as oddly familiar, but it could just be a trick of the light. The girl once more circled her arms around the boy's neck, eyes shining in the dark. The boy, David, gave her a little smile in the dark, a little mocking but also inviting. So absorbed were they on one another that they didn't notice the body strewn across the path had the girl not nearly tripped over him.  
  
With a gasp, she drew back with a horrified shriek, "Oh my god! Oh my God! There's a dead body in here! A dead body!" David clapped a hand over her mouth, but the girl's hurried words broke through the barrier, "Oh my God. He's dead; he's dead!"  
  
"Stay back," gestured David to the girl. But the girl clung all the harder to David, unwilling to release her death grip on his arm.  
  
"We have to get back! We have to get out of here!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"David, there's A DEAD BODY! WE NEED TO ALERT THE SCHOOL!" she screamed in his ear. She literally half dragged the protesting boy away, their departure marked by the girl's near hysteric pleas to get away. As soon as their footfalls faded, Holly stepped forward once more, thinking quickly. The manservant would awaken in a few hours and would tell the world that he was attacked, so it was no use hiding him anyway. However, the body bag with the fairy bones.  
  
The elf dragged the weighty object some distance away, cursing herself for not being in full LEP uniform and being deprived of her Moonbelt. At this rate, the entire Mud cavalry could be raining on her head and she'd be leaving a clear trail. With a fresh surge of strength, the elf hoisted up the body bag and fled into the night.  
  
A few hours earlier.  
  
Artemis closed his laptop, mouth set in a serous, pensive line. His father was getting close. Too close. Just a little more, and he would be able to penetrate Artemis's little net of crime. He couldn't afford mistakes, especially not this far in his business dealings. He would soon have to devote more time to keeping his business ventures under wraps. He stood up slowly, mind turning over the various possibilities. Unbidden, an image of the boy Alexei popped in his mind. Artemis's pensive expression turned into a scowl. Him again.  
  
The Irish teenager had done his best not to think about Alexei Forster ever since he had delivered the boy to the nurse's office. The Nurse had been quite adamant that Alexei had fainted from heat exhaustion, and that he would be fine in a few hours. Ridiculous diagnosis. One did not have seizures when one experienced heat exhaustion. But no matter his testimony to the nurse, who seemed quite flustered that she couldn't find anything wrong with Alexei nor did his medical records help any, had firmly rooted herself to the Heat Exhaustion hypothesis and had snapped at Artemis when he quite pointedly disagreed. On the risk of sounding like his fellow teenagers, whatever.  
  
To be quite honest, none of it was his business and whatever lapse of neurons had been responsible for actually helping Forster when he looked like he was on the brink of death (don't think about it, Fowl, he warned himself despite the queasy twinge of his stomach), it was gone now. The raven-haired youth crossed the room and slipped into bed cleared of pesky thoughts. When he closed his eyes, he dreamed.  
  
Artemis had an odd feeling as though he were walking on something soft. Carpet? No. carpet didn't feel cool or bend as supply as this. There was a rushing sound in his ears, like water, but yet not water. He half saw grass and felt the pleasant breeze of a meadow. Where was he? It was nighttime, and all around him it was dark. But it was not wholly dark. Moonlight spilled into the night, making the surroundings ethereal in its blessed light.  
  
There was a step, the barest whisper of bending grass. The Irish youth looked up suddenly. In the sweet field he was in there also was another occupant. A mare stood upon the grass. She was tall, fine boned and elegant, but Artemis couldn't seem to quite put a name to her breed. She was similar to the Egyptian Arabian Desert horses, but filled with infinitely more grace. The boy squinted. was it the color of twilight?  
  
Quietly, in explicably, Artemis felt drawn forward. As Artemis drew near, he realized the eyes of the mare, which had paused in its step to watch him, were the eyes of soft lavender. Captivated, the boy took another step forward, this time of his own volition. This mare was.  
  
The elegant horse dropped her long beck and allowed the barest tip of her muzzle to touch the ground. From that point of contact, the ground swiftly changed. From pleasant fields the ground became something clear yet solid. Was it a mirror? But mirror didn't ripple as he took a step. Water then? It seemed to be the only logical conclusion. As logical as walking on water could be. Artemis didn't think he could feel ground underneath the water.  
  
The mare had disappeared. But all around him was soft twilight reminiscent to her coat, shifting and going on forever before losing itself to a murky horizon of light that yet was also dark. He took another step and the water rippled outwards. Another and another step. Artemis moved down an invisible path. Was he moving in circles? Was he even going somewhere? Artemis didn't know.  
  
Something drifted past his eye. A raindrop? Sure enough, multicolored raindrops gently fell from what lavender sky and fell down to the strange waters below. Artemis traced the path of a drop when he noticed something in the water. Something was moving right underneath him! But it wasn't his reflection. Rather, it moved as his reflection. Whichever step he took, the figure followed. They did not exactly mirror one another's action, but they were moving the same path.  
  
Frowning, the Irish youth gazed more intently. The figure was a diminutive being, hardly three feet in height. It had a buzz cut short auburn hair. He might have mistaken it for a male and a child but the figure's form was most definitely petite, almost delicate with the proportions of a woman. But there was nothing fragile about her confident stance or the way she moved. There was a deceptive grace in her, almost catlike that rippled with surety and command. Impressive, for a figure so short. She was disturbingly, almost painfully, familiar. He couldn't quite make out the face. it was looking somewhere off in the distance, attentive. Artemis stared as well in the same direction.  
  
There was a disturbance in the area ahead of them. Artemis thought he could detect ripples moving outwardly, caused by steady, even footfalls. But there was no cause for footfalls. Except for darkness. A mass of roiling darkness was within twenty meters of the diminutive woman. It moved with the slow deliberateness of a snake, ceaseless yet purposely coiling and undulating. It was an opaque darkness that his eye or his mind could not penetrate. But he needn't know the nature of this creature. Somehow, his instincts were warning him against this, and his instincts were usually correct.  
  
With a start, Artemis made out a ring of hazy, indistinct darkness that ringed him on his side. With a start, the Irish boy realized that the darkness he had thought part of the horizon was actually a moving ring that surrounded him. More uneasy than before, the raven-haired youth frowned, trying to make it out. So intent was his observation of the ring of darkness that he had not realized that the figure below him had started charging forward directly at the mass of darkness.  
  
Surprise lit in his features. Was she charging against the darkness? Or was she running to it? Definitely charging against it, the boy decided moments later. The creature had fought bravely, but, with a sinking feeling of realization, Artemis realized that her foe was beyond her. And he didn't want her to lose. His subconscious hadn't wanted the girl to lose. It was somehow important, too important, that she didn't. His body reacted without his mind's consent and his feet carried him to where the forceful struggle was taking place, right in the center of darkness.  
  
The woman had fallen to the ground, and the darkness loomed over her. It hovered for a moment before suddenly surging around her figure. The darkness flooded her, seeping into every pore, and the woman began shaking. Artemis froze in horror, watching the woman drown in darkness. He fell to his knees and began pounding on the water barrier between them. Screams would have risen from his throat if he had been allowed sound. Please, he seemed to say, don't let anything happen to her! Don't! She can't die!  
  
Blue light descended upon them. At first, Artemis didn't even realize it. In his hysteria, he had only eyes for the convulsing creature. But then the blue light broke through the darkness, and Artemis could only watch in stunned amazement. As abruptly as it attacked, the darkness retreated into the horizon once more, and the blue light retreated. The creature's convulsions abated. In the fiery battle between the darkness and blue light, the creature had been blown on her stomach, hair scattered all over.  
  
The raven-haired Irish youth watched her anxiously, waiting to see wake up. A nagging feeling in the back of his mind told him that there was something new, something amiss with the creature, but he hadn't the patience to attend to it. The creature HAD to be okay.  
  
There was a breath indicated by the abrupt heave of her chest. Artemis swallowed, hands subconsciously touching her hands where they lay prostrate. He couldn't see the expression on her face because her hair was in the way. The boy frowned. That was it. The hair. when once it had been close crop auburn, it had turned into ruby fire that cascaded silkily around her.  
  
His thoughts were distracted when she opened her eyes. Artemis absently thought that her eyes were a rare color of hazel. Hazel, like wood, but with a golden ring circling the dark iris almost like amber. The eyes initially dim now brightened in amazement upon seeing him. A little hazily, Artemis saw a reflection of his face reflected in her eyes, almost as if he were suspended in drops of shining dark liquid. Her hair flew away from her face to reveal.  
  
Artemis was knocked clean off the floor before crashing down once more. He gasped, stunned with pain, before the darkness on his side closed around him. Automatically, the raven-haired youth struggled, twisting, striking feebly with his fists but it was no use. Pain as he hadn't felt before flooded his senses, and he thought he was going to die. A forceful blow knocked him off his feet when he struggled to rise, and he couldn't help the choked gasp as his head banged against the water glass floor. He closed his smarting eyes, and when he opened them he realized that he was laying where the creature was or maybe she had come to him. In a position reminiscent to his minutes before, she was on her hands and knees banging quite forcefully on the barrier between them.  
  
Hazel eyes connected with sapphire ones, and she seemed to say, "Let me help you." His hand moved to cover hers once more and once there, Artemis was startled to find that he could feel the warmth of her hand. There was nothing that stood between them. His equilibrium shattered at the sudden loss of gravity. He flailed around, but her hand caught his. His breath caught in his throat.  
  
In a voice that Artemis did not recognize, nor did the creature seem to be speaking it, these words were spoken:  
  
"One alone will not be enough.  
  
Two together and one will die.  
  
Death, either way.  
  
Death.  
  
You were fated to doom.  
  
This is your destiny."  
  
Artemis was knocked out bed, gasping for breath, by a piercing shriek that assailed his ears. Memories of the dark dream faded as sapphire eyes gleamed in the dark, surprised and wary. What the. There were voices outside his room in the hallway. From the annoying pitch, he guessed it was David, an obnoxious fellow. No doubt he'd been caught sneaking out with a girl again. The Irish youth rolled his eyes. But there was something different in David's voice this time. It didn't sound as if he were acting cutesy to get out of trouble. In fact, his voice sounded strained and perfectly serious. The high-pitched shrieking that so rudely interrupted probably everyone's sleep must be the girl he snuck out with this time. Artemis frowned, listening.  
  
"No, we were by ourselves. What do you think a guy and a girl do when they're by themselves???" came the irritated voice of David.  
  
"There was a dead body! We tripped over a dead body! A body!" screamed the girl.  
  
That got Artemis's attention. Silently, he padded over to the door. He peeked outside using the peephole on his door. David's room was right across from his. Luckily, David, the girl, two menservants, and a nun were crowded around the front door. The girl, a blonde with perfect, porcelain complexion, was shaking and hugging David's arm with a viselike grip. David seemed to be taxed and irritated, an unusual expression for the class clown who would accept suspension with a large grin. He shook his arm uncomfortable (Artemis had a sneaking suspicion that the girl had cut off the circulation) and was gesticulating to the nun who seemed to find their story a pack of lies.  
  
"A dead body, you say Miss Bonnie?" asked the nun, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yes, we saw a dead body!" wailed the girl, tears leaking out of her eyes.  
  
"And why exactly were you sneaking up to David Jagger's room instead of coming to notify us?" asked the nun in a hard, disbelieving tone. The girl sniffled before bursting into tears. David looked discomfited.  
  
"We were planning on tell you. but I had to get her to stop crying first." muttered the light brown haired boy.  
  
"I see," said the nun with a curl of her lips. "Mr. Jagger, Ms. Kayley, please proceed to my office."  
  
Bonnie grasped the nun's sleeve, "You believe us, don't you?" David just groaned.  
  
The nun paid no attention to Bonnie and turned to the two menservants, "You two are dismissed."  
  
Bonnie began to cry more hysterically than before as the two students were led away by the nun. The two huge menservants lumbered off down the hallway. Artemis stepped away from his door, mind processing the interesting bit of information he learned. A dead body? Out in the school grounds, no less. Utterly ludicrous. No doubt Bonnie Kayley had made it up on the spot to get them out of trouble. Which was what made it strange. If one followed that line of reasoning, one would realize that professing the revelation of a dead body would get them in further trouble and not save them. Bonnie could be stupid enough, Artemis contended. David on the other hand.  
  
Artemis frowned, recollecting what he knew of his annoying classmate. David Jagger's had been a new student that joined this year. He was the son of a suddenly wealthy corporate president, but for all that David was no more fit the part to be a millionaire than Artemis was to be a priest. Facetious and never serious, David constantly went out of his way to pull pranks, skip class, and flirt with the girls whenever possible. Nothing seemed to affect him, from reprimands from the nuns to threats of expulsion and a letter home to his parents. He had bugged Artemis from day one, and was, by perverse chance, as immune to blatant iciness from Artemis's part as he was to verbal threats from the nuns. He was a fool.  
  
Yes, the two of them must have just made the situation worse for them. Artemis made his way back to his bed, rearranging his thoughts. Though he had settled the reason why David and Bonnie had gotten caught, there was still something that bothered him. He had a feeling that it wasn't wholly because of David and Bonnie either.  
  
The Irish teenager crossed over to his window, needing a breath of fresh air. The moon was dark tonight. It gave only the barest of light, enough to at least make sure you didn't run into anything. He frowned pensively, unconsciously troubled.  
  
Artemis blinked. A figure was moving along the shadows near the tree line, indistinct and indiscernible. The raven-haired youth would not have spotted it had it not been for the odd glint of faint moonlight that seemed to cause a flare of ghostly burgundy fire. Then it was gone. Movement stilled. There was nothing moving. Artemis blinked again, mind moving rapidly. Very casually, he made a great show of yawning and slipping away from his window. Safely ensconced in the shadows of his own room, Artemis eased to a position next to the window where he knew he would not be seen but where he could see. There. movement again. What was that?  
  
Whatever it was moved with great dexterity. It was extremely hard for Artemis to keep track of its progress, and the only thing he was able to see clearly was that it was headed for the Monastery. Sapphire eyes strained in the darkness, but human eyes were not meant to penetrate the night. Artemis lost sight of the figure. The boy returned to his bed thoroughly intrigued.  
  
The figure was neither an employee nor a student. Although both could have reasons (legitimate or otherwise) for walking around the grounds at night, Artemis very much doubted any had the skill to pull of such a stealthy action. There was unmistakable grace and professionalism in the way the figure moved that bespoke intense training and experience. No, this was not an ordinary clandestine nighttime stroll. This was someone who definitely did or was going to do something, and whatever it was, it was clearly under the table. Did it have something to do with David and Bonnie's reports of a dead body?  
  
For a moment, Artemis felt a familiar tingle of thrill in his chest. Well, business had been a little tedious of late. Looks like he found the well- needed distraction he needed. 


	14. A series of little mishaps

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are the works of and are copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.  
Scene Seven  
A series of little mishaps  
  
"Alexei? Alexei.... Alexei, are you awake?" called Aidan. He frowned at the wooden barrier that blocked his view of his classmate's room. "Alexei, it's getting really late. You need to get up."  
  
From within her room, Holly groaned into her pillow. Her muscles ached, her head ached, and she was in no mood to deal with "school" of all things. Hazel eyes cracked open in irritation. "This... cannot... be happening... to me," she groaned once more. She closed her eyes, recalling the events only a few hours ago.  
  
Tuesday dawn  
  
Holly bit her lip, cursing her recalcitrant magic but more cursing the boy who had melted into the shadows in a window high above. Of all the luck, it had to him who was looking out their window when she made her way back to the Monastery. As if finding and burying a bag of dead fairy bodies, being attacked by something not quite human, and escaping discovery by the breadth of a hair was not arduous enough. She must have done something really bad in her past life to deserve this.  
  
Speak of the devil... A manservant had exited the Monastery front entrance and was circling around the Monastery. Holly fists clenched in utter frustration and dread. A brawl with one manservant had been a narrow victory. Once more and in gaze of a public building too? She better move now or she'd be caught. But she wasn't going to take chances with Artemis Fowl on the lookout.  
  
"Foaly..." muttered the elf. "You had better be there or I'll never make good on that carton of carrots I promised you."  
  
"It wounds me, sweetie, that you so doubt my devotion to you," answered Foaly, laughter in his voice. "Some situation you've wound yourself up in, by the way."  
  
"Thanks for noticing," answered the red haired fairy sarcastically. "I need a diversion..."  
  
"Diversion? What for?" asked the centaur. "Just climb up! Same way you used last time."  
  
"Last time... Last time Artemis Fowl wasn't by his window." hissed Holly fiercely.  
  
"Ooh," laughed the centaur. "Master Fowl is awake? On the lookout? Bets are he's got cameras all over the place."  
  
"Shut up," whispered Holly, frantically trying to keep her voice down. "Pull the power."  
  
"What?!" goggled Foaly.  
  
"I said pull it," commanded Holly. "I can't go back the same way with so many eyes watching. Pull the power and give me enough time to slip back inside my dorm."  
  
"Right away, Captain," assented Foaly. Normally, the centaur would have put up further arguments, but that manservant was getting a bit too close for comfort. Within a few seconds, nightlights flooding the Monastery were abruptly switched off leaving everything in complete darkness. Holly took a couple of deep breaths and blinked several times, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Thank Dana that fairies were gifted with keen eyes to make their way through the night. It was no substitute for LEP night vision but beggars aren't choosers.  
  
Holly gazed upwards, eyes tracing her route. It was going to be some climb.  
  
Present  
  
Aidan was hard pressed not to give the door a very peeved look lest it might open. His roommate was there, Aidan was sure of it, but whether he was truly dead to the world or just ignoring him... Aidan shrugged, moving to pick up his book bag and exit the room. With a last long lingering look at Alexei's door, the mahogany haired boy departed.  
  
Later  
  
Holly was pissed. No, she was beyond pissed. She was downright infuriated. And the worst part about it? She couldn't do a damn thing about it. She was just dozing a little on her bed (making up for the lost sleep the night before; surely a night like that warranted a bit of rest!) when she thought she heard the most annoying and persistent knocking on her door. She ignored it, but after a while the knocking started sounding more and more like someone was using a small, battering ram at it. The frame shook threateningly and that was when Holly gave a yelp of surprise and dove for her clothes. She'd barely managed to put together her uniform (crumpled and very sorry looking) along with her earset when the door finally swung open. Holly was prepared to yell at Aidan (whom she believed had taken his duty as roommate a little too far) when the words died in her throat and all she saw was the nun (not carrying anything, but her left fist looked a little red) with a ferocious scowl on her face and a key on the other. Whatever protests Holly might have said were drowned out quickly as the nun's angry furor crashed into her like a tidal wave.  
  
The next hour was spent being yelled at about character, ethics, morals, the vice that was laziness and all its evil, and her duty to be a good student so that her parents could be proud of her. Either Dana was looking after her or perhaps Holly was too stunned and sleepy to say much of anything back, but the elf managed to scrape through that little torture without yelling back and getting caught. However, when the nun assigned extra work on top of what she was already doing (a letter of some sort, handwritten, that said: I will not be lazy...) Holly felt something snap. Indignation and rage smoldered in her eyes and her daydreams were suddenly filled with a thousand and one ways to disable demons disguised as nuns.  
  
You great, big bully, thought Holly blackly, wishing her gaze was sufficient to melt flesh. The nun was leading a very reluctant Holly to the soccer field near the main Cathedral. Despite her protests and waving her medical papers, the nun had insisted and Holly could not refuse without drawing further fire and attention to herself. So a very enraged Holly Short, dressed in the proper soccer shorts and shirt (Thank Dana no one had been in the locker room when she got dressed), was being forced to play this horrid Mud Men sport with little Mud Boys and Girls. Oh the horror...  
  
The first thing that went wrong was that the nun had, in her tirade, forgotten to take stock of which class Holly was supposed to be in. So she had dumped Holly off at the first soccer class she was in. The nun had shoved a soccer ball at Holly, who stood staring at it dumbly for a minute. Exasperated and beginning to question Holly's mental health, the nun had forcefully pushed Holly into the game and strode away.  
  
"A plastic ball..." muttered Holly to herself, realizing the second thing that went wrong. She didn't know what soccer was. That is, she knew that it was a sport but other than kicking it around (or was that football?) she had little idea what to do with it.  
  
"Well, join in the game!" yelled a dark haired boy. Holly stared at him, preoccupied. Wasn't he..."Uh... are you dumb or something?" asked the boy again. That would be the third thing that went wrong. The fourth thing that went wrong followed soon after. A ball flew out of nowhere and hit Holly squarely on the stomach. Holly stumbled back, amazed. On the other side of the field, was Artemis who was saying, "As I've said, kicking soccer balls is not my forte. If you just let me plan the team strategy, David..."  
  
Holly did a double take. Artemis just kicked a soccer ball at her. Artemis who looked as though he were probably going to get out of playing soccer. Artemis who had contributed to make her night and the following morning a living hell. Artemis who didn't even bother to apologize for the soccer ball.  
  
David had burst out laughing before jogging over to Artemis. "Look, pal," he responded cheerfully, "that was a good kick except you didn't aim your right."  
  
"I am in no way, shape, or form, a pal or comrade of yours in any sense of the word," shot Artemis back in words that would have put winter to shame.  
  
"Aww, I'm wounded," laughed David. "Don't you wanna impress Isolde?"  
  
Artemis's scathing reply died in his throat as his blue eyes widened and he ducked. David opened his mouth to question Artemis when a soccer ball slammed into his chest and toppled him over. Stunned, with the breath knocked out of him, David blinked foolishly at the blue sky.  
  
"Yeah, David, why don't you leave Artemis there and I'll show you just how dumb I am," spoke Holly, her smile as lethal as a gun.  
  
Artemis straightened up and focused his cool sapphire eyes at the boy at the other side of the field. That shot... the trajectory was direct, the force too much for it to be accidental... That was intended.  
  
"Besides, I doubt Artemis can actually run a couple of feet without breaking down from heat exhaustion," sang out Holly. "He's much too girly for physical education, you see."  
  
What was his problem? Artemis narrowed his eyes. "Oh really," drawled Artemis grimly.  
  
Then the new boy did something entirely unsettling. He smiled a peculiar smile, a quirky smile that spoke of mischief and secret. "I say exactly what I mean," he said in a tone that belied a wealth of meaning. Artemis stared, a feeling of nostalgia washing over him. He had seen that smile before, been at the receiving end of that explosive temper before...  
  
David staggered up, leaning heavily on an unwilling Artemis. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," wheezed the boy.  
  
Holly fixed him with flashing, narrowed hazel eyes, "Got a problem with that?"  
  
"I don't mind... that you called Artemis a girl... or that you think he can't run... or that he can't play. Period," breathed David. "I think you're probably right in that respect. But what I do mind... is the kick. Damn, where the hell did you learn how to kick like that???"  
  
Artemis scowled and stepped away entirely from David, letting the boy stagger before crumpling to the grass again. Holly grinned brilliantly at the two boys, "Try me and find out. I'll take ya both on. That is... if Master Fowl is not too delicate to take on the challenge."  
  
David shot up from his seated position, still wincing a little at his most probably bruised stomach, but eyes flaring. "Sounds like a dare to me. Come on, Artemis, let's show the new kid his place," he responded.  
  
Artemis scowled at David once more, reluctant to be dragged to a physical activity. "Like I said," insisted the Irish youth, "Why don't you let me plan your strategies and win this one?"  
  
David rolled his eyes and said, "Fine, fine."  
  
The new kid merely laughed. Some kids who had been paying attention cleared a little space for the impromptu one on one match between David and Alexei. David bared his teeth, "Ready to lose?"  
  
Alexei smirked, "All I have to do is kick that ball to the goal, am I right?"  
  
David smirked back, "Correct."  
  
"You're going to eat your words," whispered the red haired boy. As soon as one of the by standers signaled the beginning of the match, Alexei quickly acquired the ball and set off at a lightning quick pace. David, initially, was too surprised to keep up, but he quickly adapted and was gamely blocking Alexei. It was clear from the beginning that Alexei was the quicker and more agile of the two whereas David had strength and experience on his side. However, all the experience in the world did not help if you could not keep up with your enemy. Within five minutes, Alexei had dodged past David and scored a goal.  
  
A cheer rose from the class, surprising Holly. To her dismay, the majority of the class had gathered to watch the spectacle. Currently, they were laughing and chatting excitedly amongst themselves. Some were teasing David who mock scowled at them. But underneath his laughing façade, Holly knew she had rankled him. Good.  
  
David jogged up to where Artemis stood underneath the shade of a convenient tree. "Well???" he demanded. "I hope you got some miracle plan cooked up in that head of yours 'cuz I'm getting beat."  
  
"I noticed," said Artemis dryly. The raven haired Irish youth mulled over the display he had seen a few moments before, calling to mind's eye the way both David and Alexei had moved. Alexei was amazingly fast, but his tactics were... simple. It was almost as if he were feeling the game around. Artemis had a peculiar inkling that this was the first time Alexei was playing the game.  
  
"If Alexei keeps on moving the way he is now, he's bound to tire. He's quick, but he won't last forever," stated Artemis. "Use that advantage. Wear him out." David eyed Artemis incredulously.  
  
"That's it?" asked David, "That's your wonderful strategy that you wanted to sit out of to make?"  
  
Artemis allowed a cool smile to descend upon his lips, "The best strategies are the simplest ones, David." David rolled his eyes and walked down to where Alexei was waiting for him. It was true. Alexei would not be able to keep up the pace. Time was on their side.  
  
Alexei scored a few more goals, but as the game progressed, almost everyone knew what was happening. Alexei was getting slower and slower, and he was not able to defend himself against David's well-placed strikes. David began scoring. The crowd watched with baited breath. Alexei's scores and David's were at an even.  
  
Holly's bosom heaved in exertion. Her hazel eyes were dimmed and a hand felt its way to her chest where her heart fluttered weakly. Soon... the game had to end soon. The elf supposed that she could always forfeit, but giving up was not her style. Someone had to show these Mud Boys her place. But soon. She had to do it soon or else...  
  
"Ready to give up?" laughed David at Alexei. Unlike Alexei, David was still energetic and ready to go. His superior strength and endurance was clearly evident. Alexei gave him a withering glare.  
  
David immediately commenced control of the ball, his speed gaining the more he had it. Alexei ran after David but suddenly halted when his heart shuddered.  
  
Holly's hand flew to her chest. Strength drained from her limbs. Blackness began eating her vision. Abruptly, she hated it. She hated the weakness, hated her body's frailty. Anger flamed inside hazel eyes. "I am not going to lose," she whispered fiercely to herself. "Not to weaknesses, and especially not to cocky, arrogant Mud Boys. I won't!" Holly darted off after David, for the first time freely letting her fairy instincts to take over.  
  
To the side, admiring murmurs and gasps were heard as the students commented on Alexei's surprising speed. But one was seeing far more than just speed. Artemis stood up, eyes zeroing in on Alexei. Unconsciously, the sapphire-eyed youth took long strides forward, allowing him greater proximity and vantage point to where both David and Alexei were battling on the field for control of the ball. He had to be sure. Just a moment ago, he thought he saw something, but now it wasn't there.  
  
A wild kick had the ball flying over both David and Alexei's heads and spinning away far up in the air and to Alexei's back. David immediately pelted off after it, but Holly had other ideas. She smiled dangerously before back flipping. She would be slower than David, sure, but David wasn't getting up in the air. At the last backflip, Holly added an extra spring and the momentum caused Holly to soar several feet into the air. The spinning soccer ball flashed in her sight. Perfect. Using the backward motion to power her kick, Holly let out a devastating lash that caused the ball to shoot like a bullet towards the goal.  
  
There it was. Just as Alexei was running, back flipping, and especially when he back flipped right before he kicked the ball, Artemis was sure of it. He had seen wings. Translucent wings that, when struck by sun, let off a rainbow of colors. Graceful, fairy wings that beat in time to Alexei's fast pace. The wings were now outstretched, catching the wind and softening Alexei's fall as the boy landed almost gently back to the Earth. As soon as Alexei's feet were firmly planted on the ground, the wings disappeared.  
  
The Irish youth quickly looked to the side. His classmates were rushing over to Alexei to congratulate him exuberantly on his win. Apparently, none of them had noticed a thing. Neither did David who was just scowling at Alexei. Artemis narrowed his eyes. Interesting...  
  
Holly felt a little claustrophobic as several students crowded around her, breathing words of admiration and compliments. More than anything, she wished for them to give her breathing space. Her body ached and felt weak in a way she knew had nothing to do with being exhausted. She batted their hands away and stumbled off, calling, "Need to get some water." The students shrugged before crowding around David, teasing him again.  
  
The fairy walked, biting her lip. For the first time since her surge of strength, she noticed that her heart was still fluttering weakly. It didn't make sense. Holly closed her eyes, fighting to keep her head up, not even aware where she was going.  
  
"Water fountains the other way, you know," said a familiar voice. Holly stiffened, before slowly turning around. She dreaded to speak with him, but she was not going to run away.  
  
"I ... just decided to take a detour," retorted Holly, "To cool off."  
  
Artemis smiled in a way that was not at all reassuring. He tossed her a water bottle. Holly caught it easily, but she asked dubiously, "Is this poisoned?"  
  
The Irish youth responded smoothly, "If it was, I wouldn't have touched it with my bare hands."  
  
"I'm sure," said Holly, looking at him suspiciously. Nonetheless, she needed water. Badly. Holly uncapped the bottle and drank it eagerly. She just hoped that, if it had been poisoned, her magic would automatically neutralize it. Holly finished half the bottle before pouring the rest over head in a move that, once again, Artemis found very familiar. "What is it that you want, Fowl?" asked Holly after resting a few moments.  
  
"What makes you say that?" asked the sapphire-eyed youth, feigning innocence.  
  
Holly rolled her eyes. "You never do anything without reason, Fowl," retorted Holly. "Are you going to blackmail me or something?"  
  
Artemis smiled coolly, "I suppose I could. But then again... I do owe you for saving me from that incident in the library."  
  
"Yeah..." murmured Holly, suddenly feeling lost and unsure in front of her long time adversary. She shied away from his gaze, feeling the history between the two of them and feeling uncomfortable that he didn't know. Unbidden, thoughts of her regret over the Council's decision about Artemis Fowl's mindwipe rose in her mind. In the deepest, darkest part of her heart, Holly could admit it... She had never wanted the mindwipe for Artemis. So, even though he now approached her with as innocent an intention as a lion would a gazelle, she did not fear him or hate him as she had in the past. Instead, inexplicably, she felt guilt.  
  
"Alexei..." said Artemis.  
  
"Don't call me that," said the red haired elf brusquely. Her hazel eyes rose up to meet his, warm hazel vibrant with raw emotion clashing with coldly beautiful sapphire blue. For long moments, they stared at one another, equally absorbed. In Artemis's mind, he began to recollect his dream from the night before. He had seen another like Alexei, too much like Alexei. He had seen...  
  
"Alexei," called another. The two broke apart. Alexei flushed and backed away guiltily. Artemis tracked his actions with a bemused eye before turning to where the newcomer had entered. Aidan had jogged up to see both of them. He paused at the scene, processing the information. "Am I disturbing something?" he asked.  
  
"Nah," denied Alexei right away. "Artemis was just giving me his water bottle. I got lost." He smiled brightly, a little too brightly. "Is it time for the next class?"  
  
Aidan nodded. "The teacher told me to get you," he stated. "We should head back to the locker rooms."  
  
Alexei's smile became fixed. "L-locker rooms?"  
  
Aidan nodded, looking curious, "Yes, the locker rooms. The three of us should go. We need to change. Alexei, you might want to take a bath."  
  
"Bath?" squeaked out Alexei in a way that seemed entirely feminine. Artemis and Aidan stared at him. Alexei seemed pained. "I'll... you two run along. I'll catch up."  
  
Aidan cast him a confused glance. "But you don't even know the way back," he commented.  
  
An astute deduction, thought Artemis, inwardly congratulating his classmate.  
  
Alexei seemed cornered. He mumbled something, before finally whispering a jumble of words. Aidan stepped forward. "Pardon?" he inquired.  
  
"I said," gritted the red haired boy, "I'm not feeling too well. I'd like to go to the Nurse's office."  
  
"You're not feeling faint again, are you?" frowned the mahogany brown haired Aidan, stepping forward.  
  
"No!" insisted Alexei. "I just feel a little ill, and I'd like to have my earpieces inspected. I'm going now."  
  
Without a backwards glance, he jogged up towards the Cathedral. Aidan followed, looking thoroughly bemused. Artemis traced their path upwards towards the cathedral, feeling pensive himself.  
  
"You can come out now, Isolde," stated Artemis in his usual monotone. The Irish youth swiveled around to face a not too distant tree where the female was leaning. A sensual smile curved up her full lips.  
  
"How long have you known I was there?" asked Isolde, looking pleased.  
  
"For as long as you were there," responded Artemis flatly. "I don't appreciate being spied on."  
  
"I wasn't spying on you, love," laughed Isolde. "I was checking to see Alexei. Marvelous, isn't he?"  
  
Artemis folded his arms. "For some reason, Alexei strikes me as someone who doesn't appreciate being spied on either."  
  
Isolde's smile widened, "Jealous?"  
  
Artemis started towards the Cathedral. "Hardly," he answered, not even waiting for Isolde.  
  
"Hey, hey," called Isolde, catching up with him. She pulled him back towards her. "You know you're the one for me, Artemis."  
  
Artemis stared at her blankly.  
  
Isolde continued, undeterred by his frosty gaze, "My family has always wanted me to marry into the Fowls."  
  
The raven-haired youth passed by her once more, "Notwithstanding my family's criminal record, no doubt."  
  
"Criminal records... make you all the more interesting, darling," purred Isolde. Her arms enfolded Artemis from behind. Artemis closed his eyes briefly before stepping away.  
  
"Don't touch me, Isolde," he whispered in a voice that was deadly serious. "I mean it. That was a long time ago, and I don't mean to ever go back in the past."  
  
Isolde watched him go, her expression inscrutable. "Artemis..." she said quietly, "You know you'll come back to me. There's no one in the world that can keep you interested for long except me."  
  
"Don't count on it," he tossed back carelessly.  
  
Holly stared at her image in the mirror in absolute horror. Really, nothing worse could have gone wrong. Not a damn thing. She might as well have sprouted wings, become luminescent, and had a wand for gods' sake. Holly stopped that train of thought. No need to tempt Morgana.  
  
The said elf was currently staring at her image in the wall mirror in the boy's locker room. The locker room was long empty due to the fact that the bell rang quite some time ago. Holly had made a fuss, gone to the Nurse's Office, stalled long enough for everyone to leave, and then snuck back into the locker room for a bath and a change. She'd made damn well sure that no one was inside the locker room, and even went so far as to lock the doors to make sure no one went back in. Paranoia had only made Holly take a shower all the faster.  
  
So far, so good. Everything was going according to plan, for once. Then the gods just had to slap her in the face. Scratch that; it wasn't a slap. It was more like getting hit by a tidal wave. Holly was innocently running a brush through her unruly, red locks when she'd hit a snag and pulled hard. A weird sensation then permeated her scalp. Frowning, the elf went to check the mirror and what she saw floored her. Literally.  
  
Her once, neat, short red hair was now hanging unevenly down to her shoulders. Her pointy ears, freed from the constraining comset, were the only things that peeked out from the messy red nest on her head. All in all, with her mouth hanging wide open, and her hazel eyes the size of saucers, it was not a pretty picture. D'Arvit. D'Arvit, D'Arvit, D'Arvit!!!  
  
Biting her trembling lip, the shaken LEP agent slowly began brushing her hair once more. At first the action was monotonous, soothing. Then as her hair began to fall in ordered waves around her, she began to panic. Hysterically, Holly brushed and the more she brushed, the more she was sure. Sometime between taking her clothes off for a shower and drying herself off, her hair had decided it was no longer content in its length and had decided to grow by quite a few centimeters. Holly took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Really, the situation wasn't all that bad. In fact, she didn't even know why she was so stressed about it. After all, hair can be cut back to its proper length. Granted, it would most likely look more like a work the gardener from hell did, but it was much preferable to the long, mop growing on her head now. Holly tugged experimentally at a strand, just to make sure that it wasn't growing at an accelerated speed at the moment. It seemed stable. She could imagine her trouble if her hair grew even more in one of her classes. From now on, she was going to keep one of those silly Mud Men caps in her bag.  
  
Thinking of which... Holly turned a semicircle, still clad in a towel, at the empty locker room. No... it was too much to hope that some of the boys would have left a scissor in there, not even a knife. The wimps. So her current predicament crashed down on her. How was she to sneak into a classroom and borrow a pair of scissors. But how to do it when said classrooms are filled to the brim with Mud Men? Nightmare. Furthermore, the locker room wouldn't stay empty for long. Sooner or later, the next class would file in, and then she'd be in real, deep guano. As a final impediment to her recovery, Foaly was logged off. Flares were up.  
  
The door rattled. Surprised voices from outside went, "What the-? Why're the doors locked?" As swiftly as possible, Holly began changing to her school uniform.  
  
Another chimed in, "Shove it, Stanton. HELLO???? IS ANYONE IN THERE????" There was a sound of shuffling as the Mud Boys turned around and finally spotted a nun who would be able to help them. Holly's pants, socks, and shoes came on.  
  
"What is all this nonsense?" cried the lady, frowning disapprovingly at them all despite that they were now at their best behavior. "Locked doors? Of course not! It's a strict school rule that the locker door rooms should never be locked!" Holly's towel was shed, bindings came on, shirt came on (with terribly mismatched buttons), jacket came on.  
  
"But, Sister Lisa, it is locked!" whined another voice. The elf's school tie was stuffed with her other belongings.  
  
"Oh dear Heavens. If this be some prank..." she muttered. The doorknob jiggled quite vigorously. The nun did not sound very happy. "Open up! Is anyone in there???" The knob jiggled some more, and there was the clinking sound of keys being fumbled with. The LEP agent's belongings were dumped onto a huge towel.  
  
Holly had only about a few seconds left to her. Quickly, she knotted up the towel, grabbed another huge towel, and made a running dive for the laundry chute. A second after her nosedive and after she had covered herself with the towel, the door opened and the sister blinked at the empty, spacious room.  
  
Perhaps diving into the unknown was not the best of ideas, Holly reflected as soon as she was encased in shadow. After all, it seemed very much like a vertical drop. Despite Holly's training as shuttle driver, she couldn't bite back the loud, "OH D'AAAAAAAAARVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!" Classes in the Cathedral were interrupted upon hearing such a loud though otherwise unknown expletive tear itself from a disembodied voice that seemed to come from the ceiling and then fall down to the floor.  
  
In another classroom, David excitedly jumped up despite the shouts amidst his classmates about possession and the devil, and cried, "It's the voice of God!"  
  
Artemis adopted a more somber though sarcastic tone, "It's a fallen angel."  
  
Fallen angels probably had more graceful landings. Holly plopped onto a large, garbage disposal sized container filled with dirty Mud Boy Laundry. If Holly weren't preoccupied about keeping her cover, a few choice words would have dropped from her lips about Mud Men hygiene. As it happened she contented herself by lying very still, listening for any sounds in the darkened room. She could sense vibrations from rows of washers and dryers, but otherwise the large room seemed to be deserted. No doubt the actual washing hours commenced after dark.  
  
Very carefully, Holly raised herself and glanced about. Again, her eyes confirmed what her other senses had told her. No one was there. Nothing living, at least. The ruby haired elf shivered in remembrance of the sack of fairy skeletons. Come to think of it, the body bag could resemble the laundry sacks... She shook her head. No point in psyching herself out. Very lithely, like a feline, Holly unfolded herself and snaked across the laundry container. She rolled over the edge and dropped to the side with only a whisper of a sound courtesy of LEP training.  
  
What her LEP training hadn't prepared herself for was the loud thump her heart made upon contact with the ground. What below the Earth...  
  
A graceful hand immediately pressed to her chest, feeling the abruptly irregular beating heart within. Oh for all the things that walked below the Earth, her seizures had the worst timing... Not rapidly, but with a sense of urgency, the LEP Recon captain moved for the doorway. A towel was dumped on her head, just in case. It was poor disguise, but she had no choice.  
  
The doorknob jiggled. The door was locked. Gritting her teeth, Holly jiggled it more firmly, but it remained in place. She patted herself, trying to find a hairpin, something, anything, but there wasn't anything that could help her. Once more, she cursed her luck for not being in LEP uniform. She felt ridiculous and extremely out of place. The elf scooted to the furthest row in the darkness, her frustration and anxiety building. She wasn't afraid of being trapped forever. Sooner or later, someone would come in and it was only a matter of stealth for Holly to make her way out.  
  
As she lay there, waiting in the near pitch darkness, she discerned something. A soft whisper: a step. No, three steps. Uneven gaits... one... two, three...one.... Two, three... Though her heart shuddered from the strange seizures, it accelerated painfully once more. She took an uneasy breath. Even with Holly's enhanced elfin hearing, she could not discern what type of shoe could make such a heavy, padding sound. The footfalls stopped. A cold stillness descended upon the darkened room. Slowly, so slowly one could barely feel it, the hair in the back of her hair rose. A growing chill began to permeate the room.  
  
The footfalls began once more. Disconcertingly, it was not on the opposite end of the room. This time it was closer, ever closer... It was not the soft padding on hard stone floor. It was strange. Tremors were racing through the laundry machines, and Holly realized, with a start, that whatever it was, it was walking on the washers! Holly quickly scooted as soundlessly as possible to another row. Her seizures were barely abating, and her head swam with the quick, furtive movements.  
  
As soon as she rested against the next row, metal crashes boomed into the room. From what the red haired elf could conjure, it seemed that the lids of the washers were being slammed upwards rapidly and consecutively. The elf shook her head, trying to clear the sudden rise of panic and hysteria. Holly was renowned for keeping her head in the midst of danger. She was not one easily unnerved. But it was as if a noxious vapor was suffusing the room, entering her lungs, and making her reluctant body move sluggishly.  
  
Bam! Bam! Bam! That was the sound of washer lids being slammed upwards.  
  
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! That was the sound of a heavy creature jumping from one row of washers to the next. The metal machines shrieked in protest at the abuses. Whatever the creature was, it was heavy.  
  
Then something came to Holly, a whisper altogether apart from the sound of approaching creatures in the dark. A whisper. A chanted hymn. A canticle. "Know me... come with me... I will..." It was the same. It was the same voice that sang to her in her dreams. Somehow, she did not know how, it spoke to her in her wake.  
  
The door opened abruptly and a shower of light fell inside the room. The doorway framed the silhouette of a nun. Uncaring whether she was seen, Holly ran for the open door. Out... I need out! was all she could think of. She crashed into the nun who promptly fell back with an indignant squawk before Holly sped away from the scene, unheeding that her flame colored hair flew like a silken banner behind her.  
  
The nun rolled over to the side disgracefully, screeching all the while. However, the elderly female made no move to chase after Holly despite her fury at being knocked into. Bizarrely, the nun stepped into the laundry after furtively glancing around to make sure none saw her. The moment she secured the door close, her features were lit by an eerie dark green glow that twisted her visage to resemble a reptile.  
  
"What is it?" she hissed angrily at the door. "What are you doing? We could have been discovered!"  
  
There was a shift in the shadows and the nun visibly blanched and backed away. "No, no, not at all!" she whispered furiously. "Please, I beg you, no! P-!" An abrupt silence ensued broken only shortly by a soft thump. The uneven gait of one... two, three... one....two, three petered into the darkness. 


End file.
